NC Gov. Roy Cooper tours storm damage in Boone & Avery County

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper will visit Boone on Thursday to assess the damage caused by Hurricane Helene.

Cooper plans to tour Ashe, Avery and Watauga counties during the trip. Those three counties include some of the hardest-hit areas in North Carolina, such as Blowing Rock, Boone and Newland.

The governor's office says he will thank volunteers for the countless hours of work and speak with those impacted by the storm. And while the floodwaters have receded in many areas, business owners in the Boone area worry Helene's timing will have a drastic impact on the fall tourism industry, which keeps the region's economy going throughout the year. Several business owners told WCNC Charlotte October is the busiest month of the year for them, with App State football games and leaf-peeping raking in big money for the High Country.

Cooper and President Joe Biden took an aerial tour of the Asheville area on Wednesday, as the president got his first in-person look at Helene's devastation. Many highways in the hardest-hit parts of North Carolina remained inaccessible, but from his Marine One helicopter, Biden saw flooded roads, piles of shredded lumber and displaced sandbags, emergency trucks and downed powerlines. In one area, homes were partly under water, and it was hard to distinguish between lake and land. #Helene

[angus]

Ask the Governor if he’s okay with the federal government giving another $8.7 BILLION to Izzy, instead of helping Americans.

Or is he OWNED by the Izzy Lobby as well?

[kennethgriffin-woyl]

I guess he won’t come out to the not liberal areas!

[elainegoad]

WCNC please turn the volume up for your videos you post on You Tube.