Asheville, N.C., cut off from world; damage estimated $100B in South | 29 Sept 2024 | Asheville and other parts of western North Carolina were cut off from the world this weekend, with no roads open into or out of the most populous city in the region and electricity and cell towers limited or inoperable. Fatalities from the storm Helene in the South were more than five dozen, and the Buncombe County numbers -- where Asheville is county seat -- were not included due to trouble reaching next of kin, said the Emergency Services director. Nearby Spruce Pine collected 24 inches of rain between Tuesday and Saturday, dwarfing the 11-plus in metro Atlanta in a 48-hour period that eclipsed records dating to 1878. Helene, a Category 4 hurricane when it hit the Big Bend of Florida on Thursday night, is forecast to leave behind between $95 billion and $110 billion in damage and economic loss.