After several days of trying to reach relatives without success, Vignette Truett shared their names in a Facebook group chat, hoping someone might have information about their well-being.

“I’m still waiting to hear from people!” her Sunday post declared. “I haven’t been able to sleep, rest, or eat; my mind is consumed with worry.”

Truett, sitting with her phone in a hotel in western North Carolina, is among many utilizing social media in efforts to reconnect with friends and family impacted by Hurricane Helene’s unprecedented rains and the resulting flooding.

Widespread outages in communication systems have made gathering information challenging. Officials report around 600 missing persons cases, a figure they anticipate will decline as service resumes. Tragically, over 100 fatalities have been confirmed throughout the Southeast.

In Burnsville, North Carolina, where Truett has lived with her husband and mother-in-law since 2019, devastation is prevalent. Images shared by local authorities and survivors reveal damaged roads, destroyed bridges, and buildings washed away by the rising river.

The power and cellular services in the area have been down since late last week. Additionally, many homes, reliant on well water, lack running water – a significant concern for those anxious about their loved ones.

“We’re reaching out to every rescue team, shelter, and individual we can find,” Truett, 24, informed YSL News via phone. Fortunately, she and her husband still have cell service at their hotel in Boone, about 50 miles northeast of Burnsville. “It feels like we’ve been at this forever, but it’s only been a few days.”

Many turn to social media to locate loved ones

As rescue teams venture further into the mountainous regions, local residents and family have come together, establishing online groups to exchange resources and names of those who’ve been confirmed safe.

Dona Gardner, a schoolteacher from Seneca, South Carolina, successfully confirmed the safety of some friends and relatives through such a group.

While browsing a Facebook group, Gardner spotted a photo of her friend’s daughter, along with a comment noting that she was safe. The girl had trekked five miles over wrecked roads, rivers, and debris to reach downtown Burnsville, where she reunited with her family.

Later, Gardner found a post where a stranger requested updates from Weaverville residents, a small town near Asheville. One comment mentioned her cousin and confirmed that she was safe.

“We’ve now heard from all my family, but we first learned they were okay via social media,” she remarked. “It’s quite remarkable.”

North Carolina residents in Florida wait for news about their friends

In a coastal town near Tampa, Florida, hundreds of miles away from Burnsville, Suzanne Vale and her husband anxiously monitored their phones as they awaited updates from several neighbors they had tried to contact since Thursday.

Just over a week ago, they drove from their home in the Blue Ridge Mountains to their residence in Dunedin as Helene approached Florida’s Big Bend coast. Although their Florida home was undamaged, their concerns shifted to Burnsville, where washed-out bridges and roads isolated residents, severing their connections to the outside world.

After numerous unanswered calls, emails, and Facebook messages, Vale now hopes that someone in a Burnsville Facebook group might provide news about her neighbors’ safety.

“It’s incomprehensible what has transpired,” Vale commented.

Residents perform wellness checks and share findings

Some individuals trekked into the Appalachian Mountains to verify the safety of their loved ones. Upon returning, they shared lists of names of neighbors and others encountered during their search, enabling several families to learn that their relatives were safe.

“THANK YOU SO MUCH. My parents are on this list,” one individual responded to a social media post.

Another remarked: “I’m from Florida and have been thrilled to see my long-time friends’ names on this list. Their families have been extremely worried.”

Among those searching for relatives is Gardner’s 26-year-old son, Carlton Gardner. He set off on Monday morning to locate his in-laws who reside in Pensacola, a neighborhood just south of Burnsville.

“We haven’t heard anything for days,” Gardner stated. “They live on a hill, so we’re hopeful. However, we are aware of mudslides in that vicinity.”

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Carlton Gardner informed his mother that he will provide her with a list of names of individuals he encounters in the mountain suburbs, so she can post it on Facebook.