Nearly two weeks after Hurricane Helene ravaged communities in the South and along the East Coast, 92 people are still missing in North Carolina, according to Gov. Roy Cooper.
The governor said the state formed a task force to locate anyone who may still be missing.
"The task force, law enforcement and other partners will continue working to locate those who are unaccounted for," Cooper said during a briefing on Tuesday.
In addition to those missing, the state has reported 95 storm-related deaths.
Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida on Sept. 26 as a Category 4 storm. It traveled north, making its way through Georgia and the Carolinas.
Asheville, North Carolina, was one of the hardest hit areas despite being nearly 500 miles away from where the hurricane made landfall — with many roads, buildings and infrastructure completely wiped out.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has been on the ground helping those impacted, but their efforts have been hampered by disinformation. In an interview with Scripps News, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas some survivors have been reluctant to accept assistance due to disinformation.
"We have heard false information that federal employees, state and local officials are actually planning to take survivors’ property away, and that is leading to a reluctance on the part of survivors to access the immediate relief to which they are entitled and upon which they very well rely," Mayorkas said.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell on Tuesday had a blunt message for those spreading disinformation as her agency works to provide assistance to those in need.
"I need everyone listening to hear this from me," she said. "The ongoing spread of misinformation about operations is not OK. It has got to stop."
Criswell added that FEMA has resumed door-to-door operations after a brief pause due to security concerns.
