North Carolina officials outline plans to prevent future communication blackouts after Helene

As western North Carolina continues recovering from the devastation left by Helene, state and regional leaders are focusing on one of the storm's most significant challenges: the near-total collapse of communications infrastructure. During a virtual recovery update hosted by Grow NC, officials discussed ongoing recovery efforts and what is being done to prevent another communications blackout if a future disaster strikes. According to the Land of Sky Regional Council, the Federal Communications Commission described the communications failures during Helene as the closest thing to a total communications blackout ever experienced in the United States. "When flood damage started to come in, all of that infrastructure got broken and dismantled," said Sara Nichols, energy and economic development manager for Land of Sky Regional Council. "A lot of our infrastructure was located along waterways."