The Helene-related death toll in South Carolina has now risen to 25, according to state officials.
The Anderson County coroner announced another death attributed to the storm, bringing that county's total fatalities to four.
People record photos and video of the Reedy River at Falls Park Friday, September 27, 2024, in Greenville after Hurricane Helene struck the area.
Karen McCall, 60, of Anderson, had driven to pick up a family member on Harbin Road the morning of Sept. 27 when Helene's winds and flood were at their worst, according to the Anderson County Coroner's Office.
She later was reported missing after family hadn't heard from her since 7 a.m.
Anderson Police detectives tracked her phone's location to the area of Harbin Road.
Search teams looked for her, but flooding and damage was too extensive.
At around 2:30 p.m., authorities using a drone found her Toyota sedan overturned in water with her inside about a mile away from Harbin Road.
Spartanburg County still has the most fatalities with six, followed by Greenville County with five — after another was added to its total on Sept. 29.
Death totals in other counties are Aiken (4), Saluda (3), Newberry (2) and Chesterfield (1). Most have been killed by fallen trees, according to details released so far.
Helene made landfall later Sept. 26 along the Gulf Coast of Florida as a powerful Category 4 storm and then tormented a large swath of the South over the next day and more as it moved on its northward path.
'Going to take patience'
Gov. Henry McMaster on Sept. 29 toured areas around Aiken and Greenville.
The governor stressed patience as the Upstate and other parts of South Carolina continue to recover.
He called Helene one of the worst storms he's seen in this area while speaking at a press conference at the Greenville Downtown Airport.
"The Upstate has likely not seen anything quite like this, if ever," he said after touching down in a helicopter around 4:45 p.m.
Days after Helene hit, the devastation is still palpable in the Upstate. Trees cover streets, traffic lights are out, rivers have overflowed, houses are destroyed and many drivers are scrambling to find gas.
As of 6 p.m. Sept. 29, nearly 830,000 people still didn't have power. Mike Callahan, Duke Energy's South Carolina president who joined McMaster, said at it would take until Oct. 4 to restore everyone's electricity, though some may get it back sooner.
"This is one that's going to take patience," McMaster said. "Slowly but surely, we're getting the power back on."
McMaster was joined by a host of politicians, including Greenville Mayor Knox White, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and U.S. Rep. William Timmons, who posted on X that he would halt his campaign to focus on Helene recovery efforts in the Upstate.
McMaster said the National Guard was called in before the storm and has since been activated. The state is looking for more members to help with recovery. McMaster denied that the state had diverted any of its resources before the storm to Florida.
Graham compared the devastation and wreckage to war-torn places.
"Mother Nature bombed us pretty hard," he said.
In the future, Graham pledged to get more power lines out of the air and into the ground.
"When this is over, we're going to sit down and talk about how to bury as many lines as we can responsibly to save a lot of, not only lives, but money," he said.
Though service continues to be restored to many, Duke Energy told customers Sept. 29 that restoring power could take up to five more days — leaving some residents without electricity for a week. Some will be without power even longer, the company said.
"Our crews are working tirelessly to restore power to your area following the devastating damage caused by Helene," read a text message to customers. "We expect to have power restored to the majority of customers no later than Friday evening, with the exception of areas that are inaccessible or unable to receive service."
Duke and electric co-ops serving customers across the state have explained the process to restoring power is slow because of the debris that must be cleared first. Where trees have downed power lines, utility companies must first ensure all lines are safe before clearing crews can remove trees and other debris. Only then can utility companies return to fix power lines and, in some places, put up new poles.
Duke spokesman Ryan Mosier told The Post and Courier that just about every part of its infrastructure had taken damage in some way, including at least one substation.
"The damage we are seeing from Helene is historic," Mosier said. "Folks who have spent 30-year careers at Duke Energy have never seen anything like this."
But it wasn't just the Upstate that continued to deal with power outages.
Residents of Daufuskie Island, located in Beaufort County off Hilton Head, have been without power since the storm as well. Without a bridge, the residents rely on boats and ferry service to come and go. Public safety officials reported more than 500 trees fell on the island during the storm and that residents who rely on wells do not have potable water due to being without power.
The fire department is setting up a water station, and a barge with gasoline is expected to arrive as soon as possible with a supply of propane expected to make it to the island on Sept. 30, officials reported.
Stay off the roads, and don't believe 'hogwash'
Local officials in Greenville County on Sept. 29 urged residents to stay off the roads and remain patient while first responders and utility workers across the county and state continue clean up in the area.
People record photos and video of the Reedy River at Falls Park on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Greenville after Hurricane Helene struck the area.
Public works crews, fire personnel from Greenville County and the Lowcountry, including from Berkeley and Charleston counties, the S.C. Forestry Commission, S.C. National Guard are working together to clear roads, said county spokesperson Bob Mihalic.
“You can help first responders do their job better if you’ll have a little bit of patience. We know it’s a tough time for everybody,” Greenville County Chairman Dan Tripp said at the press conference recorded by NBC affiliate WYFF 4. “The more traffic we generate in Greenville County, the more gas we’re burning, which causes a cycle of problems at gas stations."
Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis noted misinformation spread on social media, specifically claims that utility workers are not on the ground working to restore power.
“I promise you what you read on Facebook, most of that is a bunch of hogwash,” Lewis said. “There are hundreds and hundreds of people out here working in Greenville County to get your power restored, to get the roads fixed; the less you stay on the roads, the quicker that will happen.”
County Emergency Management Director Jessica Stumpf said 86 percent of the county remains without power. Stumpf also urged residents to stay off the roads, except in the event of an emergency, while crews continue to work to repair critical infrastructure.
“Prepare to support yourself for up to one week, possibly even longer,” Stumpf said.
Residents were urged to call 911 only in an emergency and, instead, call 864-467-3428 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. with critical needs.
“We’ve experienced an unprecedented call volume in this county,” said Tom Blackwell, executive director of Greenville County EMS. “We've had 350 incidents today, 560 last night and on Friday night over 11,000 calls.”
Blackwell said the department is receiving a high number of calls from people without power who are dependent on oxygen concentrators, but there's little EMS can do in those situations. Instead, he said those people should find a family member or neighbor to take them to a shelter with power.
“They're sheltering 80 patients now at the hospital that are looking for a place to go with oxygen concentrators,” he said.
An emergency shelter is open at Hillcrest High School in Simpsonville and is currently supporting 31 people, Stumpf said. However, she emphasized that the shelter is operating on generator power and that those who are using an oxygen concentrator should not go to that location. A medical needs shelter was opened at Bon Secours Wellness Arena for those who have electricity dependent medical needs.
She encouraged residents to report damage through the S.C. Emergency Manager app to help officials assess damage for federal assistance.
Greenville County has activated its debris management contract. On Oct. 2, the contractor will start collecting debris left along county roadsides, Mihalic said.
