(The Hill) — The Taylor County Sheriff’s Office asked residents who did not evacuate to write contact information on their arms or legs for identification purposes to help with rescue and recovery efforts, following Hurricane Helene’s landfall Thursday night.
“If you or someone you know chose not to evacuate, PLEASE write your, Name, birthday and important information on your arm or leg in A PERMANENT MARKER so that you can be identified and family notified,” the sheriff’s office wrote in a post on Facebook.
Officials requested that people provide information about whether their residence is inland or on the coast, their full address, and the names of individuals and animals so that search and rescue teams can prioritize certain locations.
Although mandatory evacuations were ordered for the area, NBC reported that Sheriff Wayne Padgett said he estimated up to half of the population was staying.
Damage is predicted to compare to the Asheville floods of 1916, which killed at least 80 people and caused millions of dollars in damage, and to exceed other extreme weather events in the region such as Tropical Storm Fred in 2021, the weather service said.