Hundreds of people are missing after severe flooding caused by Hurricane Helene devastated towns, destroyed roads, and left over a million homes without power in the southeastern United States. The storm, which has since been downgraded to a tropical storm, has led to a rising death toll. As of Tuesday, 135 people have been confirmed dead across six states, and this number is expected to increase.
North Carolina has been particularly hard hit, with at least 40 fatalities reported in the western part of the state. Here, 300 roads remain closed, complicating recovery efforts and making it difficult to deliver essential food and water supplies. Buncombe County, which includes the city of Asheville, has seen some of the worst devastation. Emergency official Ryan Cole described the situation as “biblical devastation,” calling it the most significant natural disaster many in the area have ever experienced.
President Joe Biden is planning to visit North Carolina on Wednesday. He has also stated he will travel to Georgia and Florida as soon as possible to assess damage in those states. Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris will tour storm damage in Georgia, canceling a previously planned campaign appearance in Pennsylvania to focus on recovery efforts.
While some floodwaters are beginning to recede, many areas in North Carolina remain stranded due to the storm’s aftermath. The extreme weather has led to the closure of quartz mines in Spruce Pine, a small town about an hour northeast of Asheville, which is known for being the world’s largest source of high-purity quartz. This quartz is essential for making semiconductors, which are critical components in modern devices like laptops and smartphones.
Rolf Pippert, the mine manager at The Quartz Corp, noted the significance of Spruce Pine quartz in technology, stating that nearly every smartphone and computer chip contains it. Mitchell County, where Spruce Pine is located, has experienced over 2 feet of rain in just a few days. As of Monday, officials reported that the county had no electricity, cell service, or internet. They described the flooding as a “catastrophic 500-year flood,” with much of the local infrastructure damaged or destroyed by rising waters, uprooted trees, and downed power lines.
Both Sibelco and The Quartz Corp halted operations on Thursday, just before the storm moved over Mitchell County. They cited employee health and safety as their top priorities. May Kristin Haugen, head of communication for Quartz Corp, stated that it’s currently impossible to know when operations will resume. She mentioned that they are assessing the damage but that their ability to restart will depend on the condition of surrounding infrastructure.
Despite the shutdowns, Haugen expressed confidence that there would not be short-term or medium-term shortages. She noted that lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic have led companies to maintain larger safety stocks of materials.
Overall, the recovery process in North Carolina and the surrounding areas is likely to be slow and challenging. The full impact of the storm on communities, businesses, and infrastructure will take time to assess. As rescue efforts continue, the focus remains on finding those who are missing and providing aid to those affected by this catastrophic event.
