ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — On Sept. 28, the morning after Hurricane Helene slammed into the region, causing widespread power, internet and cell phone outages, much of western North Carolina remained in the dark.

The storm followed another powerful system that dumped several inches of rain and caused flash flooding on September 26. The heavy rains and gale-force winds in Helene caused trees to fall on power lines and many were left in their homes in floodwaters.

The city of Asheville imposed a curfew at 7:30 p.m. on September 27th, which was not lifted until 7:30 a.m. on September 28th.

Henderson County was also hit hard by the hurricane. Chief Communications Officer Mike Morgan told News 13 that power was out everywhere Saturday morning.

“We are starting to see the roads improve, but there are still improvements

IMPORTANT LINKS

TRAFFIC: The emergency services were on duty and tried to reopen the roads as quickly as possible. The latest road closures can be found at DriveNC.gov. As of 8:12 a.m., North Carolina is reporting 69 closures on major roads and 344 on secondary roads.

Shelters:ReadyNC.gov reports 12 open shelters in North Carolina. The link contains details of each.

POWER OUTAGES: Click these links for the most current outage maps for Duke EnergyAnd French Broad Electric. As of 8:30 a.m. Sept. 28, Duke Energy is reporting 666,000 outages. French Broad reports over 41,000 outages.

This is a developing story. Check back for more updates.