‘This Is a Disaster’: Western North Carolina Reels From Helene

• Sept. 28, 2024, 12:52 p.m. ET

Gas shortages, downed power lines, spotty cell service and blocked roads made rescuing residents and assessing Hurricane Helene’s damage a nearly impossible task on Saturday morning in parts of western North Carolina.

“There’s houses that have been cut off that we have not even been able to get to, because of mudslides and the rivers,” said Taylor Jones, the emergency services director for Buncombe County, where small mountain towns ring the city of Asheville.

Authorities there called it a historic crisis. “We are in the midst of the most significant natural disaster in our community,” said Avril Pinder, the county manager. Cell towers and Wi-Fi were knocked out, she said, and some residents had no access to water.

Emergency crews had carried out more than 130 water rescues by noon on Saturday, county officials said, but were having trouble getting to some people who had called 911. Debris and power lines were blocking many roads, and traffic lights were out.

“We are answering four times an hour what our normal call volume is today,” Mr. Jones said. “Yesterday, that looked more like 30 times.”

The lack of communications left many residents uncertain about the safety of their families and friends. Officials urged people not to go out, saying that the ground was still wet and flooding could trigger more mudslides.

Some people were killed in the flooding, officials said, but they would not provide details until they could inform family members — a task made difficult by the communications problems.

Over 400 roads were still impassable in North Carolina, the state’s Transportation Department said, including all roads in the western part of the state, a sign of the severe damage caused by Helene.

Some people who could get out of the mountain towns headed for Shelby, N.C., about halfway between Asheville and Charlotte. Lines of cars extended onto the streets around gas stations; most pumps had run dry as of Saturday morning.

“This just hit us like a hellstorm,” said Darrell Thomas, 49, who lives near Asheville. He drove nearly two hours to find a place with food and power. “I can’t take another night of just eating packaged doughnuts and mixed nuts,” he said.

Nearly all of the traffic lights in Shelby were out. The few fast-food chains that remained open were filled with people. A Walmart supermarket was closed.

At a Dollar General, Susan Thompson, 66, said she had no power at her house and barely enough gas to make it to the store for some canned meals.

“This is a disaster,” she said.