Chimney Rock, N.C., before and after the hurricane.
By Susan McBrayer
SHELBY, N.C. | Ann Royster, who lives here, has a way of turning lemons into lemonade. So when Hurricane Helene hit Shelby Friday, wiping out power and uprooting tall trees, Ann got out her camping gear, cranked up the old camping stove and invited her neighbors over for a makeshift dinner. (Ann, my sister, turns everything into a party.)
McBrayer
Unfortunately, not everyone in the wake of Helene has been so lucky. I was raised in the foothills of Western North Carolina and I am heartbroken to hear the reports of this storm’s devastation and destruction.
After leaving Atlanta Friday, the storm took a turn to the east and hit North Carolina with a fury the state had not seen coming. Power outages, crushed buildings, blocked interstates, unprecedented flooding, unsafe water and deaths have been all over the news. Everyone has his own dramatic story.
Local news sources can supply more current information, but I can only report what my family and friends were telling me on Sunday, September 29. They are all without power and some are also without water. (My cousin in Spartanburg, S.C., says they don’t even have 911 emergency services!)
My brother in Hickory reports that the whole town is pretty much shut down and even the hospitals had no power on Sunday. Not sure about today.
Sadly, much of the town of Chimney Rock appears to have been washed out and cut off from outside traffic. The main street is now a river of mud and some of the wooden shops on the side of the road have been smashed to timbers.
Flooding near Asheville, N.C.
Near Asheville, parts of the main roads are gone, broken up into asphalt chunks and swept away by the rushing rapids of the Broad River. Some of the roads have literally fallen off the side of the mountain. Asheville is having more flood damage than it’s had in 100 years. My friend there says the city water has been cut off because it’s undrinkable and FEMA is trying to provide them with fresh water. My cousin is postponing her wedding scheduled for next weekend.
My friend in Black Mountain is getting her water out of the creek in her backyard and sterilizing it with stuff she uses when backpacking. A friend in Tryon had filled his bathtub with water, which was a good thing, since the entire town is now without water.
A Montreat friend says the stairs going from his cabin on the side of a mountain to the street below are a waterfall now. She also tells me all she can see of her two-story boat dock on Lake James is the roof.
Another friend, trying to drive down Interstate 85, said there was “pandemonium” at the few gas stations that were actually open.
The destruction in western North Carolina is reportedly the worst it’s been in our lifetimes. Yet these are early days and the horrific effects of Helene are going to be devastating for a very, very long time to come.
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