In storm-battered North Carolina, lives and elections at stake

After Hurricane Helene, the US state is dealing with the storm’s aftermath and fighting politicised disinformation about its response.

When Hurricane Helene tore through the western corner of the state of North Carolina in late September, resident Chris Heath was one of the fortunate whose homes remained unscathed.

But after three days with no power or water – and no relief in sight – he and his wife packed their three children into the car and drove nine hours south to Florida to stay with friends.

“There was loads of trees down in the road. We had to cut our way out,” Heath, an executive chef in North Carolina’s mountain city of Asheville, told Al Jazeera.

But less than a week later, Heath’s family was on the road again, this time fleeing an even bigger storm – Hurricane Milton – barrelling towards the Southeastern United States and forecast to pass near where they were staying in Orlando in central Florida.

“It’s pretty grim,” Heath said after he returned home from Florida, where Milton made landfall late on Wednesday.