Asheville mayor reflects on Helene: ‘Long road to recovery’ 

Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer reflected on the impact of Hurricane Helene, saying it would be a “long road to recovery” for the community. 

In an interview on FOX News’s Cavuto Live, Manheimer talked about the “unprecedented, catastrophic” natural disaster that comes second in lethality only to Hurricane Katrina. 

“I’ve been the mayor here for over 10 years. This is my city. I have never seen it like this,” she said. “It is going to take a long time to dig out so that we are able to rebuild and continue to be the amazing city that we are.”   

Hurricane Helene has caused 202 deaths since it made landfall in Florida last week, with over thirty of those deaths in North Carolina and leaving another 600 people missing. In addition to being deadly, Helene has also been financially costly, with damages totaling up to $160 billion largely due to the flooding in southern Appalachia.  

President Biden visited Asheville on Wednesday, taking an aerial tour of the hurricane-stricken city. Accompanied by Manheimer, as well as North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criswell and Homeland Security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall, Biden shared a photo from the survey on X.  

Vice President Harris will travel Saturday to North Carolina to tour the damage from Hurricane Helene, speak to local officials and about federal response to the hurricane. This comes after her visit to Georgia on Wednesday where she visited affected communities and families after Helene as well.