Survival of the living has to come first otherwise people can become dehydrated and/or starve adding to the death toll. Search and rescue is a way to bring those surviving this storm to safety, food, shelter, and clothing.
The problems in North Carolina are compounded by the destruction in
Tennessee. Not being able to stage supplies in Tennessee to move to North Carolina makes the job far more difficult. Interstate 40 is impassable on the North Carolina side. Asheville is in the mountains. This is an extremely dangerous set of circumstances for the people trapped there.
Supplies into North Carolina are at the very least hours away if they can be moved by alternative routes. The infrastructure leading into the area in Western North Carolina maybe a concern considering the enormous amount of damage by the wind and water. The waterways have been torrents and will make the substrate that is normally safe at least questionable at this time. All the FEMA workers and NGOs responding to these areas in any state are at risk for unstable infrastructure.
The problems being faced by Americas today are unprecedented to the size and scope of this emergency. The devastation is bigger than Katrina with recovery 100 times more difficult.
I am grateful President Biden is in the White House with the experience of a lifetime to move mountains to save lives.
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