NC Governor Roy Cooper to give updates on Helene as cleanup underway

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Governor Roy Cooper will share an update Sunday on the impacts of Helene.

It is happening at the Emergency Operations Center on Gold Star Drive in Raleigh. It starts at 12:30 p.m.

This comes as cleanup is underway in The western part of North Carolina. Helene moved through as a tropical storm Friday morning, leaving a trail of damage.

Houses and businesses are flooded, damaged, or destroyed. Debris and mud were all over the roads.

"This is the most significant natural disaster that any one of us has ever seen in western North Carolina," Ryan Cole, Buncombe County assistant emergency services director, said.

SEE ALSO | How to help those affected by Helene: volunteering, donations and other resources

Cooper spoke with Eyewitness News Saturday about the state's effort to help those impacted by the storm.

"This storm has brought catastrophic devastation to western North Carolina, of historic proportions," he said. "We are engaged in a coordinated effort right now with the priority being to get people out and supplies in."

WATCH: Gov. Cooper speaks on recovery efforts in western NC

Cooper said supplies were being airlifted to that part of the state. Buncombe County officials said Interstate 26 between Asheville and South Carolina had reopened, but most other routes into the city were impassible.

He is expected to visit the western part of the state over the next couple of days.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The featured video is from a previous report.

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