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    • Looking back at hope and challenges one month after Tropical Storm Helene
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    Looking back at hope and challenges one month after Tropical Storm Helene

    Harry Posted on

    ASHEVILLE – On the morning of Sept. 27, a Fairview woman watched a home collapse with her neighbor and three dogs inside.

    He begged the 911 dispatcher to send help.

    Less than 30 minutes ago, a pharmacist texted his wife and told her: How much she loved him and his two sons. The search and rescue team found the man’s body under the rubble 11 days later. Flood waters nearby Killed 7-year-old boy and his two grandparents.

    Same morning in McDowell County, a wall of water separated a young couple. The two were engaged to be married. Only one of them survived.

    In Yancey County, landslides and floodwaters not only killed residents but also reshaped the landscape. In nearby Spruce Pine, Mitchell County, Helene destroyed the town’s water treatment plant.

    Water system in Asheville It was so badly damaged that 160,000 customers were left without water.

    As Tropical Storm Helene ripped through Western North Carolina, first responders raced to save what they could while residents evacuated to shelters to find a way out that wasn’t blocked by falling trees. Many of the evacuees were unsure of where they would eventually turn across the Swannanoa and French Broad rivers. reached record levels.

    The electricity went out. Cell service was out. The sun is out. Neighbors went outside their homes and checked on each other. A lot They gathered around the radios to find out what was happening.

    Restaurants are closed. Workers lost their jobs. tourists It was said to stay away.

    So far Helene Killed nearly 100 people In North Carolina. Nearly a month later, 41 people remain unaccounted for, according to an Oct. 23 tally from the state’s Department of Public Safety. This number will likely continue to rise and fall as families of the missing continue to mourn their still-uncertain losses.

    For the last few weeks, Governor, minister, vice president And a former president all visited North Carolina to investigate recovery efforts.

    With less than two weeks until the general election, voters have started going to the polls. reporters ask political experts in the region How this tragedy could change the outcome of the presidential race one way or another.

    Yet most people in Asheville do not have running water to drink or bathe comfortably.

    Look back

    “Tonight is for reflection, for sharing in our collective pain, for remembering what we have lost, for acknowledging our losses, and for recognizing how our lives will forever be changed by this event,” Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer said in a speech on Oct. 22. he said. Candlelight vigil to commemorate the community’s tremendous loss.

    Meanwhile, the survivors continue to move forward the only way they know how.

    While some rebuild, others living near storm debris. While some are walking away others are playing football. Neighbors are crying. Friends compare their losses to others who suffer much worse. Some are too young to understand exactly what happened. They will only know the storm they killed their classmates or destroyed their teachers’ houses.

    Then there are those very young They never remember what happened. They will just read the stories.

    Many of these stories are not just about loss amidst Helene’s devastation; it’s also about community coming together in times of need.

    About a month later, the Citizen Times revisited some of the people its reporters spoke to in the immediate aftermath of the storm. Most of the people we meet find ways to move forward in the midst of uncertainty. Recovery will be a long-term process and there will be great challenges.

    But it’s not hopeless either.

    Jacob Biba is the county watchdog reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times. Reach him at [email protected].

    Harry
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