A driver has died after going around a barricade and driving off the edge of a hurricane-damaged North Carolina highway that became a symbol of Hurricane Helene’s destruction. Photos of Interstate 40 with multiple lanes washed out by Helene near the Tennessee state line drew widespread attention after the storm as the region was largely cut off by numerous road closures.

North Carolina Hurricane Helene victims are struggling and feeling forgotten as winter approaches. Temperatures are dropping, and many hurricane survivors are living in tents or trailers without insulation.

Debris torn from Western North Carolina and East Tennessee by flooding rivers largely dumped into one East Tennessee reservoir, and the cleanup of a hazardous debris field is taking the coordination of local,