What Hurricane Helene Left Behind

Hurricane Helene brought over 2 feet of rain to many counties in Western North Carolina and caused extreme flooding. The powerful flood waters washed houses, businesses, cars, and sewage—and all the associated chemicals and contaminants, into nearby creeks and rivers. With recovery efforts underway, local Riverkeepers are tracking how this flooding impacted river sediment and water quality in the area.

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[richardwest-qw]

I have watched many interviews with flood victims. One elderly lady stood out. She indicated that the road beside her river was built entirely upon a foundation of mine tailings. The road and its foundation of mine tailings were completely destroyed along several stretches of the river (somewhere in the Nolichucky watershed). Mine tailings being placed next to a water way is very unusual. Frequently, strong chemical solutions are utilized in the seperation processes, and tailings are generally kept segregated for good reasons. All waterways, public water supplies, and all well water should be tested repeatedly for the next year.

[melindaanne]

I was born in Asheville, worked in Asheville, raised in the Candler area; and this has just broken my heart. May GOD Bless and meet needs.

[sammylacks]

I've been thru 3 floods living at coastal NC. You'd think rain water is clean but flood waters are nasty. What's left behind when the waters gone will cause serious infections if you scrape or cut yourself on anything that was underwater.
During the 3 floods, I never saw my neighbors house floating by, pontoon boats coming over a dams spillway or had to pull someones body from the water.
I'm really sorry to have seen what you good people have endured. I know what its like to lose a home.but the devastation there is like nothing Ive seen. God bless you all. I will keep all in my prayers.
NC loves you and wont forget you .

[texasoutlook]

Thanks to all the volunteers! Prayers for all those affected by the hurricane & for all those helping!

[donnasteadman]

Thank you to all the volunteers . God bless you and all those affected from the flooding .

[JeffreyBlagus]

I've lost everything I owned 3 times
I don't collect anything anymore
Nor do I rely on anything
God is my refuge

[blackbuckreal]

Same for the Pigeon River that flows through Cocke County, here in East TN! I've seen it grow from ultra polluted & change into a clean, serene, magical stream within 30yrs. A waterway which had been set-up as Trophy Stream status for fish like Smallmouth Bass which take 10-12yrs just to grow to 12-14 inches! A place that offered astonishing rafting, fishing, and peaceful escape opportunities, has mutated into an unrecognizable monster! Now it's leveled, completely shifted, very shallow, unnoticeable, & trashed! It's going to be a lifetime of working, rebuilding, serving restoration to & for ALL of our communities in TN & NC. We will NEVER forget 2024 when Hurricane Helene hit the Appalachian Mountains!

[MandyT]

Im in Upstate South Carolina. My home was completely lost because of Hurricane Helene. Ive never experienced weather and damage like that in my entire life. We get severe thunderstorms with the occasional short lived tornadoes but never anything like the rain and winds that Helene brought. There's so many 50-100+ year old trees that are so big you can't come close to wrapping your arms around the trunk that are on the ground. Completely uprooted with roots the size of my 4 door chevy silverado truck. Then theres a wide path like that goes all around my property of large trees that are leaning over or top halfs broken into and laying against the trees beside them. When we get that specific amount of rain, wind, or ice this winter we're gonna have so many more trees down and damage all over again. Ive been trying to cut as much as i can from the broken ones that are barely dangling due to the tree beside it. I didn't realize how traumatized I actually was due to all of this until a couple weeks ago the wind picked up one day and several limbs were breaking and falling to the ground and I was terrified and on edge all day. I kept praying that nomore trees come down and destroy what i have left or cause injury to me or my kids. My heart breaks for everyone who lost their homes and especially their loved ones bc of Helene and Hurricane Milton. God bless you and I personally thank every single person that volunteered and the ones that traveled from all over the eastern part of the country to help and the ones that risked their own lives rescuing victims. Our government let us down but our fellow citizens really stepped up worked together and helped tremendously. They're still helping and its beautiful to see that theres still so many good people still left. ❤

[talithagrisham]

So little being reported on from Tennessee. It was flooded just as bad..smh.Im happy people are reporting and helping, I just wished Tennessee was getting more coverage.

[nnonotnow]

Thanks for what you do helping restore that community.

[sookie]

I’m so sorry this happened. I lost everything in a fire in 1971. It will always affect your life. However you are alive. 🙏

[taramcdonough]

These water well testers are HERO's....shameful that the govt is not testing for free. But, Thankful that these citizens stepped up to help thier community with this vital water testing. Beautiful what the citizens will do for each other in hard times. 💙💪💙

[Mollylynn]

So glad they are testing. Please keep those people safe

[longsleevethong]

Needs to be a memorial built for the lives lost and the people who rebuilt. This is a very hard time for these Americans.

[NCflyfishingguides]

I feel your pain Erica, very sad to witness. Thank you for hard work as our Riverkeeper.

[TwoBs]

7ft in 20mins … I can believe it considering how much rain that region got. I’ve seen creeks and rivers rise just as quick in one hour with only 2-3” of steady rain in that amount of time (enough to get in roadways, especially here in Appalachia where rain water is coming down off of mountains causing even more to fill up).

Now, imagine 20” inches OR MORE over a period constantly pouring down heavily in these mountainous areas. They didn’t expect this storm to just linger over these areas the way it did.

Puts things more into perspective on how and why leaving just wasn’t feasible for all the people who sit and act like “they should have just left! they put themselves in danger staying! hard to feel sorry for them when they ignored the warnings!” … which Sunday-morning quarterbacking is so easy to do with hindsight on how everything turned out, isn’t it? Easy to be perched high in an ivory tower looking down on people with the information we have now …

Usually the people that say that or continuously repeat it weeks after this disaster have never dealt with quick rising waters from a flood and it shows — you can’t _just leave_ when:

1 — the warnings never came until it was way too late
2 — that water rose so quickly that you’re better off just staying and trying to get to higher ground around you, if possible, due to roads being covered and bridges being washed away
3 — it’s more dangerous to be out on these roads with high waters rising, think of culverts that go under roadways, those fill up and water starts backing up on both sides of a road, and it’s going to put pressure on spots where the roads can sink/break away
4 — these people have been through floods before, they know where water usually gets up with a lot of rain and know how to prepare, but when it’s this much rain of biblical proportions? no amount of prep a few days in advance would have helped as this was historical for that area, no one knew it would get that bad as it is unlike anything they had ever been through before with floods


If anything, the people in ETN and WNC need to have constant news coverage put on and them pressure for them to continue to get help. The amount of citizens across the country that has no idea how bad things really were is honestly just sad. This wasn’t a typical flood from a hurricane storm. This was a whole new monster that has people still living in tents relying on the good will of citizens for help as the government just isn’t there … think of all these small rural towns that haven’t even been mentioned once. They can’t even get to them still. It’s downright shameful how people have just turned their backs away from this region when they need help the most. Seems typical for Appalachia, though … we’re the butt of everyone’s jokes and are easily passed over and ignored on the regular. No surprise when a historical disaster happens, the reality of it all is brushed under the rug to minimize it as much as possible — we’re just a bunch of uneducated rednecks/hillbillies that aren’t worth focusing on.

[lesawilkes]

What happened to the River is heart-wrenching, I can't hold back the

[markpashia]

Bless these volunteers. Just wish the billionaires would donate to save these areas with expenses of the volunteers. I am sure they will get that stuff out of the riverway but the costs of fuel and trash hauling need to be covered for them. The costs of heavy equipment to drag out those cars and trucks is massive. Even a fridge is a challenge when tangled in trees. Pray for these folks and donate where you can.

[kristacontreras]

😢so so sad! GOD BLESS NC! I am praying for everyone.

[realchilledits]

Im glad alots of people are safe, NC Strong!! WNC Strong!!