Major disaster for CSX and NS in the Appalachian mountain areas

[west point]

Hurricane Helene has delt both RRs severe damages.
1. CSX ex Clinchfield RR probably near wipe out in Erwin. Unconfirmed reports several wash out on to Bostic. The water in Erwin even flooded hospital.
2. NS from Bulls gap on to Newport (dam failure) along US25 reports still coming in on to Ashville. Ashville completely isolated both road and rail. I-40 wash out west of Ashville. East not confirmed. I-26 not known both ways however it was washed away south of Henderson toward Spartanburg just before completion by another Hurricane. NS to both Old Fort and Canton also wash outs??
Report only way in and out of Ashville is by air?

 

[Jdub]

I saw a picture of a rail line in Asheville with locomotive and cars parked on a bridge. I suppose that is to try to keep weight on the bridge so it won’t wash away. At any rate every. rail line in the path of Helene has been affected.

 

[JamesWhitcombRiley]

Hurricane Helene has delt both RRs severe damages.
1. CSX ex Clinchfield RR probably near wipe out in Erwin. Unconfirmed reports several wash out on to Bostic. The water in Erwin even flooded hospital.
2. NS from Bulls gap on to Newport (dam failure) along US25 reports still coming in on to Ashville. Ashville completely isolated both road and rail. I-40 wash out west of Ashville. East not confirmed. I-26 not known both ways however it was washed away south of Henderson toward Spartanburg just before completion by another Hurricane. NS to both Old Fort and Canton also wash outs??
Report only way in and out of Ashville is by air?

Asheville is accessible from the south, but the water plant is out. Hundreds of miles of highways further out are closed, parts covered in mud or demolished. Here's what NC 511 https://drivenc.gov/ says about I-40: "This is a long-term closure, the estimated clearance time is unknown." The placeholder date for re-opening is Sep. 30, 2025. The NC map has links to 511 in surrounding states. Google maps has the same re-opening dates, ranging from the end of the month to Sept. 2025.

NOAA did a good job predicting this storm, which in just three days went from a depression in Belize to Cat 4 in the bend of Florida. The track did move slightly east, but you can look at the archived animation at NHC and see it was mainly accurate. Flooding in the Appalachians was predicted pretty much from the beginning. But everyone gets so many watches and warnings, it's hard to emphasize the most catastrophic predictions.