Why some people in the path of Hurricane Helene did not receive emergency alerts

Zoe Dadian’s front yard became a frontline when the remains of Hurricane Helene caused catastrophic flooding in his community of Swannanoa, North Carolina.

“It’s like a horror show, just standing there on solid ground while full rooms parade by with people sitting on them, like they’re screaming for their lives,” Dadian said.

When the floodwaters receded, neighbors began talking about the warnings that had come before.

Severe weather watches and warnings are sent out by the National Weather Service, but evacuation orders come from local authorities.

Many use the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System – or IPAWS – which transmits messages to cellphones, televisions and radios in areas affected by a disaster.

Buncombe County, where Dadian lives, sent a mandatory evacuation order through IPAWS at 6:15 a.m. on September 27.

She said the alert didn’t appear on her phone until a few hours later, at 1 p.m.

“And at that moment the landslide happened,” Dadian said. “We were pulling bodies out of the rubble and there was nowhere to evacuate.”

Buncombe County officials said many cell towers were down because of the flooding, which may have delayed the evacuation order being issued.

“Cell towers are a critical component,” FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said of the challenge of providing timely warnings during flash floods.

“We need to continue to learn how to better warn people, even if we don’t know exactly where flash floods are going to occur,” Criswell said.

Although downed cell towers may have prevented or delayed alerts from being sent to everyone, some counties certified to issue IPAWS alerts did not send any, according to a CBS News analysis of available data from the FEMA. Of the 43 counties that experienced deaths during Helene, 29 did not send alerts through IPAWS.

Brian Toolan, Connecticut’s former emergency operations chief who now develops local alert software, said a county, especially small counties, can quickly become overwhelmed.

“Timelines will be key to understanding whether there was sufficient time to issue an alert, you know, was there sufficient time to prepare, you know, and if not, you know, how can we learn from it and make sure this doesn’t happen again?” he said.

CBS News also reviewed FEMA data over Hurricane Milton. At least 46 alerts were sent this week by 14 Florida counties, including those on the West Coast, where the storm made landfall and conditions were most dangerous. At least 25 people alerted residents to the evacuations.

When counties send out critical warnings, phones must be set up to receive them.

If government emergency notifications are disabled, users will not receive alerts sent via IPAWS. If notifications are enabled, users will receive IPAWS alerts.

Some counties do not only use IPAWS. They have their own alert systems that require people to register. People will only receive these alerts if they have registered in advance.

Dadian’s phone had notifications turned on, but she wished she knew sooner what was going to happen to her community.

“Never in a million years,” Dadian said, “did I imagine that this was going to be something we couldn’t overcome.”