When Hurricane Helen roared over the mountains before dawn last week, water swirled up to the mailbox of Shelby Holzhauser’s little white house on the banks of the Swannanoa River.
To get food and water, she had to backpack for days past piles of debris left by a killer storm that destroyed everything in its path.
“We don’t have electricity, we don’t have water,” Holzhauser said as her 4-year-old son, Carter, clung to her legs.
As she spoke, workers in the town of Swannanoa and across North Carolina’s Appalachian Mountains were repairing roads, pipes and power lines destroyed by the hurricane.
The death toll on Thursday exceeded 200 in several Southeastern states, with North Carolina the hardest-hit state recording half of the deaths.
“We live on a hill and thought we’d be fine, but we were so close to where we had to take our son out of the house that I was scared we’d get stuck. ” said the 23-year-old. – said the teacher of the kindergarten of one year old.
Nearly a week after the storm hit, the weather was clear and sunny Thursday, with the remains of abandoned cars and other debris cleared from major roads. But life was far from normal.
Holzhauser has to use river water to flush the toilet. Her husband told AFP he fired up a generator provided to him by his employer so he could cook.
Elsewhere in town, men staffed a large stand stocking basic necessities at a closed gas station.
“We’re all sticking together. We’re all helping each other,” Holzhauser said.
Holzhauser, who has lived in this mountainous area all his life, said that before Helen was born, his life was all about working 24/7 to earn money and living, and had no bond with his neighbors. Ta.
But that has changed.
“Since the disaster happened, I’ve actually been able to get closer to my neighbors. They come to check on us and make sure we have what we need. “He did,” she said.
Veterinarians provided free emergency treatment to pets in the parking lot of a closed fast food restaurant. Veterinary technician Audrey Pace came to the rescue.
“There’s a lot of grief right now. We know a lot about grief. So come to us and we’re going to love you,” Pace said.
“Pets are people’s unconditional love and unconditional companions,” she added, before leaving when a car arrived with her dog in the passenger seat.
In a nearby field, helicopters took off and landed with loud noises.
A short distance away, an area of mobile homes typical of poor rural America was swept away.
In one of them, Christmas decorations and a child’s Star Wars costume were sticking out of the destroyed wall. There was no one inside.
President Joe Biden toured areas affected by the storm Wednesday, flying over the city of Asheville near Swannanoa.
Biden sent more troops to help with recovery efforts after Donald Trump, who is running for re-election with Kamala Harris in November, criticized the slow response to help hurricane victims.
Holzhauser said the rebuilding efforts so far have been “amazing.” Twenty meters from her home, new water pipes were being installed and heavy machinery was repairing damaged roads.
But as Holzhauser looked out over this small army of engineers, he realized what lay ahead. “Recovery will take time,” she said.
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This article was generated from the Automata news agency feed without any modifications to the text.
