‘I just broke down’ – harrowing storm takes emotional toll on survivors 8 hours ago Brandon Drenon BBC News, Boone, North Carolina Robin Levinson King BBC News For over 40 years, Nancy Berry’s trailer in the town of Boone was her mountain oasis and her family’s homestead.
When her great-niece arrived, she found Ms Berry trying to save some of her belongings by putting them up high.
She grabbed her purse, handing it to her great-niece, who carried it over her head while helping Ms Berry to safety.
“She’s strong and she was just pushing me, pulling and that water was – ,” Ms Berry, said, shuddering.
“It was not a nice moment.” Western North Carolina, located more than 300 miles (482km) from the ocean, is no stranger to storms, said Kathie Dello, a climate expert at North Carolina State University.
“I just broke down” – survivors experience an emotional toll from the terrifying storm.
Eight hours prior.
Drenon Brandon.
BBC News, North Carolina’s Boone.
Robin King Levinson.
ABC News.
Nancy Berry considered her trailer in the Boone town to be her family’s homestead and a haven in the mountains for more than 40 years.
It served as both her place to make new memories with loved ones and her place to store the memories of the deceased. That trailer also claimed her mother’s life.
But Hurricane Helene washed it all away in a matter of hours.
The 77-year-old is currently working to preserve what is left. Keepsakes of her past and identity are scattered across her bed, which is still drenched from the flooding.
The death certificate for her son, who passed away from COVID three years ago, was atop the pile.
She told the BBC, “I took it and arranged it.”. “My family’s history needs to be preserved. That is lost, though, in large part. “.
Assisting her in wading through three to four feet of water, Ms. Berry’s great-niece saved her life.
“Thank God for cell phones—they kept calling me.”. You never know what might have occurred in the past, Ms. Berry said.
Upon her great-niece’s arrival, she discovered Ms. Berry attempting to preserve some of her possessions by stacking them high.
Aunt Nanny. Come on. Make your getaway. Get out,” she called out.
Ms. Berry yelled back, “I’m coming, I’m coming!”. When she saw that her great-niece was helping Ms. Berry get to safety, she reached for her purse and gave it to her.
“That water was—,” Ms. Berry shuddered, “and she was just pushing me, pulling, and she’s strong.”. It was not a pleasant situation. “.
According to Kathie Dello, a climate expert at North Carolina State University, storms are common in Western North Carolina, which is more than 300 miles (482 km) from the ocean.
Nothing like this, she said, as “catastrophic” flooding brought about by a tropical storm in nearby Carusoe claimed the lives of six people. There have now been at least 180 confirmed deaths. Over 600 people are still missing. Fresh water supplies are running low and thousands of people lack electricity.
The government has sent 4,800 federal aid workers and 6,000 members of the National Guard to the area, but many have criticized the response, claiming that volunteers have handled the majority of the rescue operations.
Green Valley Fire Chief Kennie McFee stated, “We were cut off from [the outside world] for about three days.”.
Neighbors assisting neighbors was the main situation here. “. .
According to Diello, the BBC, although Asheville and Boone were severely affected, isolated settlements tucked away in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains are also having severe difficulties.
Cell service and Wi-Fi were spotty even before the storm. People’s struggles to leave have been made worse by poverty and unpaved, rural roads.
People frequently ask, “Well, why didn’t they leave?” according to Diello. Perhaps you are unable to pay for a full tank of gas, and how many nights you would have to spend in a hotel in a safer location? Perhaps you are aware that you are unable to leave your family or your job? “.
An anonymous woman in Green Valley claimed that she was still without power and communication with the outside world five days after the storm.
A battery-operated antenna radio, which she claimed to be decades old, was the only device she had that worked.
“You will be able to handle it if you were raised in the mountains,” she said.
A car arrived as she was speaking with the BBC, bringing news of her family, whom she had not seen or spoken to since the storm.
“Thank you, Lord, again, they were all okay,” she uttered.
She claimed she had seen worse storms than Helene, but she never saw anything like her.
“People are paying attention to God. Not just around here, but all over, he’s truly grabbing people’s attention,” she remarked. However, I genuinely believe that it’s only done to make it clear who is in charge. ****.
Nicole Rojas, 25, recently relocated from nearby Tennessee, where she had lived “off grid,” to her secluded home perched atop a mountain in Vilas, North Carolina.
While shopping for supplies in Boone, she told the BBC, “I kind of wish I would have stuck to my lifestyle a little bit, because I always had drinking water, showering water, and food.”.
Now, she learned that she and her roommates—a 54-year-old named Karen, her 74-year-old mother, and a family with small children—would probably be without power for weeks at a time, with a single-lane road strewn with trees serving as their only route in and out.
She remarked, “The gentlemen in the community pulling out their tractors and chainsaws and moving all the trees was the only reason I was even able to step outside.”.
On Friday, Ms. Rojas was home when the storm hit the mountain. She and Karen went into town on Sunday after her neighbors had spent the entire Saturday clearing the road. Karen returned home with supplies after suffering a potentially fatal allergic reaction from an insect sting during the storm’s chaos.
In the meantime, Ms. Rojas stayed in Boone with friends so she could start working at a nearby health store. She will be heading back home on Wednesday, armed with extra supplies.
After hearing another customer’s story, it was at work that she finally realized what was going on.
She remembered that when she had to pass a truck that was picking up what appeared to be dead bodies, she broke down in tears. And at that point, I simply lost it. “.
You hear all of these terrifying tales from people about how their whole house just fell off the mountain. “.
“It seems like the end of the world is near.”. “.