Agents Carolina, insured stunned by unprecedented damage inside

Insurance agents in the mountain town of Asheville, North Carolina, said they and their policyholders were stunned by the catastrophic damage so far inland from Hurricane Helene, which dumped 14 inches of rain on the picturesque community and flooded hundreds of homes and business.

“I didn’t know it was possible for a place like Asheville to get something like this,” said Chad McKinney, co-owner and principal agent at McKinney Insurance Services, just south of downtown Asheville. “I was born and raised here and have been here for 42 years. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Several roads around the city were still closed on Tuesday and supplies were being airlifted into the region three days after the storm hit. McKinney said he was forced to evacuate in Charlotte ahead of the worst of the flooding and has been transporting food and water to areas around Asheville for the past two days.

He had calls to his office directed to his cell phone, but with cell service in much of the area, reception was patchy and few policyholders made it through Monday.

He noted that only a few homeowners and businesses near the swollen French Broad River had flood insurance. “Most people don’t have it,” McKinney said.

It wasn’t just the floods that hit the area. At the Juengel Agency, closer to downtown Asheville, producer Brian Spieles said the agency has heard from many policyholders who were planning to file claims because of trees that fell on their homes.

“One of the biggest things we see are the huge trees that are down everywhere. It’s crazy,” Spieles said Tuesday.

He noted that many parts of the city suffered severe damage, but most people cannot get in or out as roads and bridges remain washed out. Interstate 40, one of the main thoroughfares, is expected to be closed until sometime next year.

Claims adjusters also reported that they are unable to enter the Asheville area to inspect properties for claims already filed with carriers.

“It’s going to be a long road to recovery,” Spieles said.

Government leaders agreed and called for an “unprecedented response” to help people. Entire communities were destroyed, officials said.

“There are many injured people. When you don’t have power, when you don’t have cellphone service, when you don’t have water, that’s a catastrophic situation for you,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper told MSNBC Monday night, Reuters news service reported. .

At least 35 people in Buncombe County, around Asheville, died in the storm.

Major commercial, industrial and health care centers in the area also suffered severe flood damage and could be closed for weeks. Bloomberg news service reported that Baxter International Inc. closed its largest manufacturing facility, in Marion, North Carolina, after the floodwaters moved out.

The factory is the largest manufacturer of intravenous and peritoneal dialysis solutions in the country.

It is too early to say whether the shutdown will affect medical procedures in the U.S., Wells Fargo analysts said in a research note, Bloomberg reported. Other makers of products that compete with Baxter, including ICU Medical Inc., Fresenius Kabi AG and B Braun SE, should be able to make up for Baxter’s lost supply, the memo said.

In eastern Tennessee, Unicoi County Hospital in Erwin was flooded by the nearby river. Dozens of patients and staff had to be rescued from the hospital’s roof, Becker’s Hospital Review reported. The patients were transferred to Johnson City Medical Center.

Top photo: Asheville residents wait in line for water at Mountain Valley Water after Hurricane Helene. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)

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