A man records video as a telephone pole blows a building inundated by floodwaters in half

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (CNN) – Incredible video shows the extent of damage caused by Helene in North Carolina as part of a flood-stricken building is torn apart by a telephone pole.

Chris Faber captured video of a floating building from his third-floor apartment in Asheville on Friday. He says he saw trees and shipping containers and entire buildings washed down the bloated Swannanoa River.

The video shows what looks like the exterior wall of a building in the water. The wall hits a telephone pole outside, and the floodwaters continue to push it through the pole, ripping the wall in half.

It was confirmed that this debris was at least part of a local tea company called Asheville Tea Co., which lost everything to Helene.

The owner, Jessie Dean, says she thought moving everything at least three feet above the ground would be enough to avoid flooding. She had no idea her entire building would be swept away.

“It’s unbelievable,” Dean told CNN. “We put so much love and passion into this space.”

She says all company employees and their families are safe.

Asheville and surrounding Buncombe County were one of the places hardest hit by Helene. At least 61 people have been confirmed dead in the county, nearly half of the total death toll of at least 189 people, according to the Associated Press.

Copyright 2024 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. Gray News contributed to this report.