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In western North Carolina officials, rescue workers, and even people who live there don't really know how bad things are, even days after tropical storm Helene roared through. NPR's Liz Baker reports from Asheville.
LIZ BAKER, BYLINE: For any of the nearly 100,000 people who live in Asheville and want to reach, well, anybody, they have to come to this parking lot between a church and a courthouse where a portable Wi-Fi trailer has been set up. For Connie Hays, she came to call out of work.
CONNIE HAYS: I'm a psychotherapist, and I have clients tomorrow, and so I'm letting them know that I'm not going to be able to Zoom 'cause I don't have power.
BAKER: Cindy Unchester caught up on the news.
CINDY UNCHESTER: Seeing the pictures of the flooding and the mud that's still just there - it's been a lot to take in today.
BAKER: Ben Matchar showed up to apply for federal aid on his phone.
BEN MATCHAR: And I click, let's get started, and that's about as far as it lets me know.
BAKER: And there was even one guy who stopped by to download a movie because he was bored at home. But the real value in this and what county officials are hoping will come out of it is that as more people come to hot spots like this, they'll be knocked off the long list of missing and unaccounted for. Last night, Turbo Tetterton reconnected with the world outside her Asheville neighborhood for the first time since Friday.
TURBO TETTERTON: I just got online and saw that a lot of people are looking for me, which is heartwarming amidst all this heartbreak.
BAKER: Standing in the parking lot in the rain, she intently scrolled through the messages on her phone, taking them in.
TETTERTON: Just, hey, have you heard from this person? Hey, I haven't heard from that person. Does anybody heard from them? Are they OK? Do they have power? Does she have water? Are you alive? I didn't realize how bad it was.
BAKER: And that's the thing. Nobody really knows how bad it is. Here in Buncombe County, several dozen people have died, a number that grows twice a day at each press conference. Ninety-two search and rescue teams are still out looking for people, especially in the remote mountain towns.
ROY COOPER: Today, we did an aerial overview to see the damage here in western North Carolina, and it is extensive and devastating.
BAKER: Governor Roy Cooper spoke with reporters on Monday after his helicopter trip over the region.
COOPER: We even talked with some people who are still hoping to get and talk with their people and as phone service comes back up, we'll know a little more.
BAKER: This is a situation, unlike anything we've ever seen before here in western North Carolina, the governor keeps saying. And at least for now, the full scope of the situation is still yet to be seen.
Liz Baker, NPR News, Asheville, North Carolina.
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