Cadaver dogs join search for the dead in North Carolina after Hurricane Helene decimated towns

In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, cadaver dogs joined search crews Tuesday in knee-deep mud that was littered with the remnants of destroyed buildings looking for bodies in the rugged mountains of western North Carolina.

The search continued in east Tennessee as Gov. Bill Lee was out with emergency workers who were extracting the dead from the destruction. The death toll has already surpassed 160 and is expected to increase, the Associated Press reported.

The Category 4 storm has left thousands homeless and millions still without power or cell phone service. Some families are trying to survive by cooking what food they can find on their barbecues while searching for a tower signal for their phones. In Augusta, GA, Sherry Brown tried to keep her refrigerator going by accessing the power from her car’s alternator.

Helene hit the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains with particular fury, killing at least 57 people in and around Asheville, North Carolina, where tourists love to sample the art galleries and craft breweries. “Communities were wiped off the map,” North Carolina’s governor, Roy Cooper (D-NC), said at a news conference Tuesday.

Marine Corps veteran Cliff Stewart managed to survive a deluge of water pouring into his home and nearly coming up to his waist as he sat in his wheelchair. He has managed since then without electricity and relying on the kindness of friends who bring him food. He has no plans to leave.

“Where am I going to go?” he said Tuesday. “This is all I’ve got. I just don’t want to give it up, because what am I going to do? Be homeless? I’d rather die right here than live homeless.”

While search and rescue professionals have been working to find those affected by the hurricane, emergency crews worked constantly to clear the roads and highways and bring back electricity and cellular service for those coping with the disaster in front of them. Many people died from the falling trees and crushed houses that the hurricane brought down.

President Joe Biden, who is arriving on the scene Wednesday to see the damage in North and South Carolina, said the rebuilding could come to billions of dollars. “We have to jump start this recovery process,” he said Tuesday accordion to AP. “People are scared to death. This is urgent.”

More than 150,000 households are seeking the assistance of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and that number could double in the next few days. However, FEMA is not entirely focused on the business of disaster relief right now as it is fixated on bringing “equity” to Americans in the midst of tragedy.

In its 2022-2026 strategic plan, FEMA says its first objective is to “instill equity as a foundation of emergency management,” the second as a plan to “lead the whole community in climate resilience” and the third being to “promote and sustain a ready FEMA and a prepared nation.”

Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris has also advocated that disaster assistance be provided to Americans on the basis of equity. “It is our lowest income communities and our communities of color that are most impacted by these extreme conditions and impacted by issues that are not of their own making,” she told a symposium in September 2022.