Race for help amid devastation in Helene

The rushing water rose five feet higher in the Swannanoa River than anyone had ever seen.

On South Tunnel Road the ground disappeared, leaving a huge sinkhole full of asphalt soup.

Houses floated away from the settlements. Bridges collapsed. The floods sent the tractor-trailers crashing into mangled heaps. Mud and branches, as well as food from local grocery stores, poured into the streets.

Survivors trudged through the dirt to find drinking water, electricity, Wi-Fi and cell phones.

Gov. Roy Cooper called Tropical Storm Helene a “catastrophic” and “historic” event with “life-threatening flooding and landslides.”

The storm stretched from Florida across the southern United States, devastating the South with heavy rain and flash flooding. However, the storm caused the most damage in Asheville and throughout western North Carolina.

“Although the rain and winds have eased, the challenge for the people there continues to grow,” Cooper said. “People are desperate for help and we are pushing to get it to them.”