New York to Hurricane Helene victims: Help is on the way

New York is sending Army National Guard soldiers, emergency responders and utility workers to Hurricane Helene-devastated areas in the Southeast, along with Chinook helicopters and other heavy equipment.

Seventeen soldiers from Rochester-based B Company, 3rd Battalion 126th Aviation deployed to support the North Carolina National Guard, said Eric Durr, a spokesman for New York’s Division of Military and Naval Affairs. The unit has previously deployed to combat missions in high mountainous regions of Afghanistan and to storm recovery efforts in Florida with their tandem-rotor Chinooks, Durr said. Three of the helicopters deployed Sunday.

"It’s a heavy lift helicopter that’s very good at carrying a lot of people and good at carrying lots of cargo," he said. On previous storm recovery missions the unit's helicopters have hauled search-and-rescue teams, food and supplies, he said.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that 30 members of the state’s Incident Management Team, including experts in transportation as well as fire and emergency management, deployed to Asheville, North Carolina. The county that includes that mountain city has reported at least 35 deaths, according to The Associated Press. Many of the main routes into the city were washed away or blocked by mudslides, and the city’s water system was severely damaged, the AP reported.

Members of the New York team will setup a stand-alone operations tent to conduct tasks that include search and rescue, structural inspections and communications and emergency response activities, according to a release from Hochul’s office.

Also Monday, a spokeswoman for PSEG Long Island, Elizabeth Flagler, said the utility sent 50 line workers to Virginia, South Carolina and Indiana to install and repair electrical power lines and related equipment, and 25 tree workers to Georgia.

New York State Department of Transportation and Thruway Authority trucks were hauling four 100kw generators to Macon, Georgia.

"New York stands shoulder to shoulder with our neighbors in the south as we respond to the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene," Hochul said Sunday in a news release. "I am proud of our dedicated soldiers that will supply vital resources, including helicopters and generators, to aid in recovery efforts. In times of crisis, we come together as one community, embodying the spirit of solidarity and resilience. We are here to support all those affected, ensuring that no one faces this challenge alone."

At least 132 deaths in six states have been attributed to the storm, which devastated an area from Florida’s Gulf Coast northward to the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia. 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency on Sunday said there were impassable roads, communications and water systems disruptions and power outages in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.