AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Western North Carolina continues to reckon with the catastrophic effects of Hurricane Helene. The area's water infrastructure took a serious hit during the storm. That has forced some residents to evacuate. And those who have remained are facing shortages of fresh water. Blue Ridge Public Radio's Laura Hackett has more on how people are making ends meet.
LAURA HACKETT, BYLINE: Every gallon of water is precious right now. With boil-water advisories across the region and several towns and cities with no running water at all, people are making hard choices about how to use their dwindling water supplies.
BECKY MILLER: And then water that's been, like, collected on the top of her sandbox - that's what we're using to flush our toilets.
HACKETT: Becky Miller is the mother of 3-year-old Eleanor. Their home has been without running water for days. People like Miller are using buckets, bins and whatever else they can find to gather dirty water from nearby creeks, streams and swimming pools - all to flush their toilets.
Ronald Jella moved to Asheville from Kenya only two months ago. He and his wife, Francisca, have three young kids.
ROBERT JELLA: I think we are shocked. We are still shocked by the whole situation. Now we are struggling to get water, food for the children, so it's a mess.
HACKETT: A mess he says he's only managing thanks to help from his neighbors.
JELLA: The neighbors - we've been surviving with water donations from the neighbors.
HACKETT: Almost a week after Helene's landfall, the water system in Asheville still needs serious repairs. Ben Woody, an Asheville city manager, says the washed-away roads and storm debris have made already-difficult repairs even more challenging.
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BEN WOODY: I can't provide a precise timeline. As much as folks want me to do that, we are not able to do that. We are still accessing infrastructure that is buried under debris, that is perhaps inaccessible because of water that still remains. We are doing that every day, as fast as we can.
HACKETT: He said it could be weeks before water comes back on. The first shipment of fresh water came Monday in two tankers from a private contractor in Florida. FEMA started bringing in water today. County manager Avril Pinder says the storm effects on the infrastructure were so massive, it took a while to convey to the state that their need for water and other supplies was urgent.
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AVRIL PINDER: It has taken so long to get them to realize that we were isolated and we need more than just road transportation. We need air support as well.
HACKETT: FEMA relief supplies have arrived at the Asheville airport, and distribution has begun.
For NPR News, I'm Laura Hackett in Asheville, N.C.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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