00:00Our top story takes us into the southeast where relief efforts continue weeks after Halim's
00:04devastating impacts. Storm chaser Aaron Rigsby joins us live right now from Burnsville, North
00:09Carolina. Aaron, you've been in the region all week. What has stood out to you the most as these
00:14recovery efforts continue? Yeah, good morning guys. Well, there's several things that stand
00:20out. You know, it just goes to show that just because the storm has come and gone doesn't mean
00:25that those impacts just go away. I mean, we're almost a month into this and there are still
00:30folks that have their roads washed out that are just now starting to get power restored.
00:36And if it's one thing that we've learned through all these disasters, though, is how strong these
00:40communities can be and how bonded they are together. I've gotten introduced to so many
00:44wonderful folks down here, hearing their stories of survival, hearing about them getting back up
00:49off their feet. But, you know, and on the flip side of that, though, there are some that aren't
00:53as fortunate. We still have some living out of tent camps and those lingering effects are going
00:57to be something that the folks of not just North Carolina, but Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia and
01:01Florida are going to be dealing with for weeks and months to come from this storm. Aaron, I was
01:06asking you earlier what stuck out to you the most that people elsewhere in the country may not fully
01:12understand. I know a lot of people are watching these stories, reading the articles and so forth,
01:17but what is the biggest thing that probably has changed your perspective being there,
01:21as opposed to if you were just reading about it from afar?
01:26I think the biggest thing is just how widespread everything is. I think when people think of a
01:32flash flood or a river flood, they think of one specific area that's been hit really hard,
01:37and that's not the case. It is just the sheer magnitude of the event that Helene left behind
01:43through all of these different states and the lingering effects it's going to have and potential
01:46wildfire dangers and mudslides for months to come. It's just something that I really can't put
01:52into perspective. It's something that is just going to have to be captured through these images,
01:56and that's why it's so important to be here so many days and weeks after the event and capturing
02:02these images, because the more access we get, the more scale of the storm we can bring to light and
02:07show people the magnitude of what the folks are dealing with from Hurricane Helene. All right,
02:13Aaron, so looking forward, what are something that either the residents, first responders,
02:18or volunteers, any of those helping with the recovery efforts,
02:22what have they stressed that they still need going forward?
02:27So the biggest need right now, there's been a bit of a backlog with the food, water, and
02:31clothing donations and the slow process it's taking to get them up into the mountain communities,
02:36but one thing that multiple residents have told me is they are looking for volunteers
02:40to help strip a lot of that wet insulation from those flooded homes that are still standing,
02:46but they're dealing with a mold issue as the sun comes up, heats it up, and all of that is still
02:50wet. There's a lot of elderly folks through here, so they're looking for volunteers along the
02:54recovery efforts there, because that's what they're in dire need of right now, because a lot of the
02:59elderly residents here, they can't do that by themselves, and it's a very lengthy and expensive
03:03process to rip down a lot of that drywall and help the cleanup process, so that's going to be the next
03:08big step for the folks along the Appalachian Mountains. All right, thank you so much for that
03:13update. Aaron Rigsby joining us live right now from Burnsville, North Carolina. Aaron, have a
03:17good weekend. We'll check in with you here coming up. In the meantime, we're going to be watching
03:21the rest of the southeast forecast here for us, and overall here for today, you saw that shot with
03:26Aaron. Blue skies behind him. It's been mostly clear here this entire week, and in fact, it's
03:31pretty much clear since the hurricane moved through. We've been seeing high pressure just
03:36dominating the forecast, and that was once again the case here for today. Temperature-wise, today
03:41was the warmest day we've seen since the hurricanes made their way through. Some areas climbed into
03:45the 90s.
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