What Mrs. Dillion’s students at the Classical Scholars Private School wrote about their experiences with Hurricane Helene.
Click on the student’s name to read their experiences
Hurrican Helene Reflection
The news, movies, reality television, and family interactions are channels through which we hear about natural disasters that affect millions of lives, take thousands, and cost billions of dollars in property damage. However, directly experiencing an event of this magnitude is life-changing, or sometimes life-destroying. Hurricane Helene hit western North Carolina on September 27th, 2024, and within a day it was many times more destructive than expected. It was, quite literally, the deadliest hurricane in the United States since Katrina in 2005, or possibly in U.S. history since it is not yet clear what the final death count is. Helene flooded parts of Asheville—and many of the surrounding towns—and this, combined with wind gusts topping 100 miles per hour wrecked trees, buildings, and bridges. One thing that no one realized when the storm hit was how much it would affect people in the long mm. At first, the main issue was people in hard-hit areas being stuck at their houses due to bridges being out and frees blocking roads. Recently, the main concerns have centered around the upcoming winter, as many people displaced by Hurricane Helene are struggling with planning for warmth during the cold months to come, the water remains non-potable for many, and the sheer amounts of storm debris that must be removed from the area is staggering.
Where I was during the storm in Leicester, NC was mostly unaffected; we lost power and a few branches. Yet some places—like Chimney Rock, a small historic town in western North Carolina—were completely flattened. Driving through much of Buncombe County and the counties around it after the storm was a reality check that other people had it much worse than us. Houses flipped, trees shredded, entire forests leveled, and people were crushed or drowned. 
During and after the major part of the storm, many people were evacuated from neighborhoods at high risk of being flooded. Many had no idea how their homes had fared until later. I could never imagine owning a business or a home and visiting it after the storm, to find it either gone or full of toxic mud that rots away the walls.
I think that Helene will be remembered for a long time as a reminder that we humans are not as strong as we might think. Nature can always put us in our place.
The Unexpected Destruction from Hurricane Helene
Living in North Carolina my whole life I had always been aware of hurricane season and the extreme weather that can occur from them. But I hadn’t expected Hurricane Helene to be as devastating as it was or to hit my hometown as hard as it did.
A few days before the storm hit, I had heard warnings about the hurricane, but nothing seemed too alarming. It would just brush our area with the tail end of the storm and move on without causing much damage. I assumed it would pass through quickly and be over but boy was I wrong. The night before the hurricane hit we lost power and were running off the little bit our solar panels had sucked in from the sun earlier that day. I went to bed that night hearing heavy winds in the air but nothing terrible. When I woke up, everything went downhill.
On Friday, September 27, 2024, I woke to powerful sounds of wind whipping fiercely outside my window. I got out of bed and went outside to see a huge tree in my backyard split in half, and many other small trees ripped right out of the ground and lying randomly around my backyard. I went inside and checked my phone to find out what had happened overnight. When I finally was able to get a signal I found images on Instagram of Biltmore Village destroyed and flooded up to the second floor. This is when my family and I realized the storm was way worse than we thought it was going to be.
For the next few days, we were stuck in our house with little to no power, waiting to hear anything about what was going on. During the first few days, we walked around our neighborhood to ensure we could still get around roads that were pretty close to us. Thankfully, the only fallen trees were small and easy to move, so we had no major obstacles. On about the fourth day of being stuck at our home my dad and I went to see if any roads near us were not flooded that we could drive on. We looked for about an hour until we realized that there was nowhere to go more than 5 miles away from our house that was flooded. In the next few days that followed my family was finally able to get out of our area and deliver food to people and helped gut homes due to the mold that built up in places.
Reflecting on my experience with Hurricane Helene, I now realize how powerful hurricanes are. It was shocking to see how quick simple, everyday tasks became challenging after such a massive disaster.
My Experience Through Helene
No one knew how serious the hurricane would be. Perhaps we all assumed that it would only hit Florida and Georgia, and we would only get rain. The reality is that the eye of the hunicane hit North Carolina and sat over us dumping wind and rain. The mountains blocked the hurricane from leaving, and the winds blew harder as they were trapped. This is what I experienced.
Nothing could prepare me when I went to school Wednesday of what was to happen on Friday. Maybe what’s worse is I didn’t realize what I had until I lost it. I heard there was a storm coming, but it wouldn’t hit us very hard. After school, mom and I went to the store and grabbed some grapes and bananas. Mom filled up our car with gas. Youth group was canceled as the rain was so heavy.
All Thursday it rained. I wanted to do homework, but Dad insisted I play a game for family time. We didn’t know we would soon get tired of each other. I watched a movie until 1():45 when we all went to bed. I switched on my lamp and read. I switched off the light and plugged my watch in. I didn’t know that I wouldn’t get to turn that lamp on for nearly a week. At 5: 15 A.M., the wind woke me up. I grabbed my watch and looked at the time. I told myself we would be fine even if I didn’t believe it. 15 minutes later, we lost power. I was asleep by then.At 7: 15 the house shook with such force I wondered if the roof would be torn off. Was the entire house going to collapse? I could remember hearing my parents say winds up to seventy to ninety miles 
per hour. We had gotten ten inches of rain, and the French Broad River was going to flood into our street. Fear gnawed at my heart, I told myself I would be alright. We were on a hill; our house would be fine.
I pulled my covers up closer and closed my eyes. We would be fine. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. My eyes popped open, I sat up and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. I reached over to my lamp and turned 
it on. Nothing, darkness. I couldn’t read and I didn ‘t have a lantern to see. A giant gush of wind shook the house. I grabbed my legs and searched my bedroom for something that could comfort me. Nothing, I couldn’t see anything anyway, so I grabbed my glasses. I pulled on the shade of the window and opened it. Rain covered the window so I couldn’t see much. When a gust of wind came, I watched the trees 
bending and swaying violently.
That didn’t comfort me at all. I opened my curtains and saw Ellie, my younger sister, had gotten up. I went to the other window and opened the shade. I could see a tree down and ran to the door. I opened it and went to a window overlooking the road and saw the tree had hit dad’s favorite car, the red neon. I went downstairs so fast I nearly tripped over my feet. “Dad! Your car got crushed by a tree!”
Mom came over to me, “The car is safe. The tree missed it.” She hugged me, ‘ ‘We are safe.” Mom led me over to the kitchen windows overlooking our backyard. Two giant rootballs met my eyes, our walnut trees had toppled over! “Ellie, I told you we should’ve moved our trampoline! The walnut tree fell on it now it’s ruined!” I could barely breathe, this was awful. I shouldn’t have gotten up at all.
“No, the trampoline is safe.” Ellie reminded me, “The tree missed it.”
‘But..” I didn’t know what else to say. I went to the dining room and my socks got wet, “I’m wet! Our house is going to be destroyed! We will get flooded and…..”
Mom quickly came over with a towel, “It is barely anything. Our house won’t be destroyed.”
“Isn’t this cool?” Ellie walked in grinning, “A real storm!” I looked at her as if she’s honkers. She liked this? How could you look at this and like it?
We all went to the front porch and watched the rain hammering down. The wind picked up and I watched the trees in front of our house bend. One tree nearly hit the red car, another was practically laying on top of Mom’s blueberry bushes and apple trees.
We woke Maggie, my youngest sister. in order to make sure she wasn’t scared. She didn’t look up, only hiding her face in Mom’s jacket. Near nine, I read Maggie a,book of poems and played “So Close” on my phone. We wrapped up in blankets. Maggie didn’t like the shades open so I closed them so she wouldn’t be seared.
I was texting my friends while Maggie sat next to me, her head on my leg. Everyone I was able to reach was alive. but fear uripped my chest. If it is this bad here, how bad is it there? Flooded basements were the most I heard, no trees hit houses. I was able to go outside with Mom when the winds died down. and our yard was a mess. Eight trees were spread about over our yard.
Walking onto the street, we ran into some neighbors. Their house was fine. I saw damage and trees down everywhere. We were trapped with the French Broad River and two trees blocking one exit, and a tree blocking the other. No one could get out. The river was a muddy brown mess.
Could this be it? Would we be able to get out? What if the water reached our house, we were trapped. How long would we be stuck here? I didn’t know. My world started to spiral. What about my birthday? It was six days away, would I get to turn sixteen? What about my concert, had we paid for the tickets? That was my birthday gift. What, what, what? I don’t know.
I knew I needed to stay strong, I was the oldest. Walking in silence, I couldn’t keep up my Mom’s happy mood. Was I the only one concerned? Back inside, my younger sisters and Mom went outside again, I was cold, so I stayed alone inside. Water was tangled in a mess on top of my hair, I was now half blind as water covered my glasses. I attempted to reach friends, but I couldn’t even do anything as I couldn’t think. I played music trying to remain calm.
No music could play, except for “So Close.” So, I played it on repeat. I wanted to reach my friend as we had gotten in a feud the day prior, and it all seemed so silly. I couldn’t reach her. Last I heard her basement was flooded. Everything except for being alive was silly. How could I be concerned about a concert’? We were not going anyway as I heard the highway was closed.
We had lunch. We ate foods that were not cold. We decided to go to the neighborhood to check out the damage. On the way, near the top of the road, I was behind Ellie, Mom, and Maggie, checking out the damage. A heard a scream. and I saw Maggie running while Mom swatted at her arm. Mom and Maggie ran down the hill, ‘-Go help with the cleaning. Maggie is hurt.” Mom yelled over her shoulder.
So, Ellie and I started moving branches until we realized we needed gloves. We ran into some neighbors, and Ellie talked to them while I walked ahead. A giant oak tree lay on the ground, and the longer I looked, I realized just how severe the damage was. It was nearly impossible to walk without stepping on a tree. What is happening? I stared at the trees twisted and tossed onto the ground.
Walking back, I couldn’t get the images out of my mind of those trees and our neighbors’ faces staring at the destruction. Since Maggie was hurt, I watched her and Ellie went to help our neighbors with clearing trees. I was reading the paper when dad burst into the kitchen, the phone in his hand, his voice shouting emergency, “I don’t know! A kid went into the water and no one can find him and there’s a car stuck in the water and we can’t get them out!” I knew he was talking about the French Broad River that
was covering our street. But a car in the water? Even in all of Maggie’s fussing about how much her arm hurt, I turned to her, “Maggie, come on! I want to know what’s happening.” Somehow, I convinced Maggie to come with me, and I carried her down to our driveway where there were a bunch of people on the left side of the road. I went over to a lady and asked what happened.
“I don’t know! I just happened to look, and I saw that red car go under those trees and now she’s standing on her car. The water has risen several feet since then. Look at the water!” I turned to look at the pavement where I had often set off on adventures, now the water was. risen to the mailbox. The yellow lines were buried beneath the fast-rising flowing disaster.
”What happened? Why is the water so dirty?” I didn’t have the answers to Maggie’s questions as I stood stunned, staring at the water. Wondering how someone could get past those dangling trees hanging barely staying off the road. How could someone get past those? Why would someone drive into the water? Time flew by as I tried to gather information about what was happening. Someone up in the neighborhood brought an inflatable kayak to try to rescue them. While we were outside, we lost cell service and we couldn’t call 911. Panic was taking over us. , A retired firefighter, Mr. Bob, had a walky-talk and he radioed in to get help. No one got in the water, as it was rising every moment. I brought snacks and water and passed it out to people. Mom and Dad and some neighbors went into the trees above the road to inform us what was going on. A teenage boy brought rope from his house and he and his friends went to get the stuck driver. I walked around taking pictures, mostly of the water. When a rescue ear came, I was excited. Except that they didn’t have a boat so they cleared the left side of the road so when the boat came they could get the people out. The uncertainty pushed onto me. Finally the boat came, the firefighters quickly put it into the water. An ambulance came and just waited, along with everyone else. I saw the boat coming and I crabbed my camera, getting it ready. When the firefighters landed on shore, no one was in the boat. Where were the people that were in the car?
Oh, no. Had they drowned? I heard someone say the water was up to the lady’s neck. I went to Officer Bob and asked, he said he didn’t know. No one seemed to know. Mom came back and passed out water to people, mostly firefighters. The boat drove away. The firefighters left. I went over and talked to Mr. Bob, and I told him I realized that if you drive into flood waters, you aren’t just putting your life in danger, also the people that rescue you. When I went back to the water I saw a lady drenched in water, her glasses covered in filth. I wondered how she could see. That was the woman stuck in the car. Next to him was a man that was wearing a safety vest. They were alive.
When we got back to the house, Mom asked me to go get the red wagon in the neighborhood. My head was swinging and rocking. After I tried to ask why it was left there, Mom explained that no one brought it down, “It’s by the cul de sac and in between the house that has a Greek flag.” So, I brought my camera and began walking up the steep hill. When I got to the houses, I searched for a Greek flag. I didn’t find one. By now my stomach was searing with pain and I told myself I needed the wagon. No wagon was anywhere, and I only spotted destruction. A house to my left had a tree on top of the roof, and a car was crushed under the same tree.
All the people I had seen outside earlier were now retreating to their houses. A streetlight had the top round ball knocked off, so only the pole remained. I snapped photos of the damage. I walked up and down the street, until I reached a winding trail that led to our house, however, a large tree was blocking the way. I turned around and decided to go up to Lark Hill, as that should be where the wagon was.. Reaching the top, I didn’t see the wagon. Mom said it could be on the gravel road, so I headed that way.
To reach it, I needed to cut across Hatfields yard. They had a large pine tree ripped from the ground. I snapped a picture.
When I reached the forest, I almost couldn’t recognize it. Trees toppled over the ground creating an obstacle course of debris including a tree balancing on top of other trees. I went in, climbing over branches, ducking under entangled branches. Was this where I had taken walks, sat quietly while reading a book? I didn’t recognize this at all. This was the gravel road, only it looked like a war zone. Roots had gotten sucked out of the ground, brownish-red dirt seeing the light of,day. I estimated seventy-five percent of the trees were gone. Taking a breather, I sat on a log that was balanced on another tree. The only noises were chainsaws. I knew I needed to get out and I couldn’t go back, so I trudged forward. Those ().75 miles seemed impossible. How far had I already gone? I softly sung, “So Close” By Brandon Lake. Now I understood the lyrics “The great winds blew. “Ahead of me were more twisted branches, leaves and dead trees balanced on nothing. Worse, power lines. They were all tangled over these trees. It felt like a cave of death. Up ahead, I saw the sky. I needed to get there. I got on the gravel ground and crawled out until I could stand.
I walked carefully among power lines that littered the ground. On my way out, I stood on a tree and a stick with a sharp edge dug into my leg. I quickly pulled the stick out and watched as my leg turned an ugly blue. I limped back home, my head spinning. When I got home, I found Mom, “I couldn’t find the wagon. I don’t know where it is.”
“Don’t worry. Your dad got it. 
I stood stunned as she told me that. It was all pointless. I cleaned my leg up and put on a band-aid. I went to look at the water with Mom and Dad. When some people came to talk to them, I felt horribly sick. Mom told me to take a nap and when we got home, she gave me some medicine. When I woke up, I heard Maggie screaming. I thought was dreaming and put my head under a pillow. Her crying continued.
Maggie was on the ground and her mouth was dripping blood. Blood was in a pool under her mouth. Alarmed, I rushed over to her, “Maggie, what happened?” The only response I got was her screaming. I picked her up and brought her to the bathroom. Her shirt and legs were bloody. I grabbed some paper towels and put them in her mouth. I put ice in her mouth.
“What happened?” I asked again.
“I was in my chair and I fell out.”
“I’m glad you are okay.” I smiled, cradling her head.
When Mom came inside, she opened the mini freezer and grabbed a popsicle, “That should help.”
For dinner we had lunch meat and crackers, with sweet potatoes, beans, and chicken warmed up on our cookstove outside. For dessert we finished off our ice cream. We had lanterns around the table, providing us light.
Each of us went around the table sharing what we were grateful for.
After dinner, Mom read us a hunting story she loved. After Maggie went to bed, we talked about the hurricane. We all went to bed at 9:30. After all, there was no TV to watch.
All in all, one must realize that just because you have something, doesn’t mean you won’t lose it. Looking around at the damage, I felt lucky I was alive.
All the anger I had felt toward a friend a day prior left. What does any of it matter? Life is so short. too short for hatred or anger to take control of us. I wouldn’t attend the concert; the highway was closed. We could leave; only where would we go? The next day it took us ninety minutes to reach my Grandparents house. They lived thirteen minutes away.
I will always remember the look on my grandma’s face when I knocked on the door. She seemed to have aged. My Grandfather sat in his chair. I ran into my grandma’s arms, nearly knocking her over. I didn’t let go, “I missed you.” My Mom, who always had her brave face on, melted into my grandpa’s arms. She started sobbing, she was shaking, and I went over to her, wrapping my arms around her.
“Mom, it’s okay.” This time it was.
Hurricane Helene
On Friday September 27, l, Ada Koppin, reluctantly woke up in eerie darkness. My family, Brett, Carrie, Evie, and Mamaw, realized that hurricane Helene had trapped us at 316 David’s Trace with no power, water, internet, cell signal and a creek that had widened at least two feet. In our basement our generator ran on gasoline or propane; we had neither. After waiting in the long line at Lowes, which was mercifully open, we returned home victorious. Using a long orange extension cord, which snaked through the house, my dad hooked up the fridge and freezer.
Soon we ventured over to the home of our hospitable friends, the Hobbs, who were lucky enough to have power and water. Upon our arrival, we were warmly welcomed with fresh hot chocolate chip cookies. After retuning home, Carrie hooked up the TV and antenna to the generator so she could watch the breaking news.
Virginia Cooter, Evie and my grandmother and science teacher at our Co-op Classical Scholars, was unable to return to Greeneville, Tennessee for three days after she usually stayed. The power returned after five days, however the Wi-Fi would be out for another two weeks. During the time without Wi-Fi, Carrie, my mother, and I spent six hours at our large local library using the library’s Wi-Fi.
Carrie, Evie, our awesome friends the Overholsers and myself volunteered at Anchor Baptist Church where they were distributing supplies like family food boxes, pet food and space heaters anyone who needed it could come and accept it. After the storm had passed, we realized how incredibly lucky our family was because we had no damage to our house or yard.
My Experience with Hurricane Helene
Sep 27th 2024. My brother got trapped at his girlfriend’s house when trying to go on a business trip with her. The rest of my family was here at our house. I had no idea how bad the devastation really was; all I knew was my power was out and there was a tree blocking the only way out. Later that evening, our neighbor cut the tree up and we were able to get out. We drove to my dad’s company to check how it fared; it was fine, but the Etowah fire station next to it was completely flooded.
We drove to see if we could get to Hendersonville, but 64 was flooded. My brother called that same day to show the absolute madness that had happened in Asheville. He showed us a semi truck floating down the road. He showed us that the Walgreens in Asheville had flooded to the roof! The next day my other brother tried to get to Asheville; it was incredibly hard but through back roads he got there. There were no gas stations, grocery stores, or any stores open for that matter. The day after that we went to visit my cousins who live in Hendersonville. At this point we had finally found a way to get there. There were power lines all over the place, and so many trees down. We eventually got to my cousins’ house. Their house had sustained minimal damage. A tree had fallen on the house but got held up by power lines and another tree. My uncle let us know that the Lowes in Hendersonville was open. When we got there the line was enormous. We got some beef jerky and things of that sort to help us if we ever ran out of food.
That same day we delivered water to one of my dad’s employees. The next day both of my brothers returned home. My brother’s girlfriend’s parents had sent us some food, which was very helpful. The next day we went to a local camp to deliver food and baby supplies to help out. e stopped at the Mills River Ingles; they had limited amounts of food. It seemed apocalyptic.
We decided the next day we would go to Charlotte to get food for people who needed it. That same night when went to our storage unit, we realized the power there had been restored. We hooked up a mini fridge in the unit to keep our food cold. The next morning, we traveled to Charlotte and spent the day in the city. It seemed so normal there; nothing had changed. The next morning, we stopped at Sam’s Club and got lots of canned chicken. When we returned, it was back to the same thing again. This lasted for another week or so, until we got power again. At this point, the death count was around 100, just in WNC. This was one of the most devastating things WNC has experienced. It will take years for everything to get back to normal.
Beauty in the Broken
The world has changed,
or at least, my own has.
Waters fell, wind swirled, pulling apart the trees,
the ground, the lives of so many.
The walls of the creek,
jagged and sharp.
The creek is no longer,
a river reroutes through a field.
Mud, cracked and dry, stains the sidewalks, walls, streetlights—anything it touched.
Trees, gargantuan beauties that used to stand tall,
reaching up into the sky as if in joy,
lie broken on the ground,
breaking roads and homes.
And yet!
Beauty springs forth still.
Leaves sway in the wind as if dancing,
the light painting trees in golds and reds,
oranges and vibrant yellows,
and highlighting the green of the grass,
fresher for the rain.
Beauty lies in the hearts of the people as well,
disaster bringing forth hope.
A million hands working,
carrying forth,
from muck and mire to solid ground,
from dark to light.
One pair passes out water to those with none,
another fixing lines.
Voices too,
though they’ve been speaking for days,
their words raspy and ragged with use,
carry on,
taking news and hope with it,
spreading it along the million invisible airwaves.
A community is bound all the tighter for tragedy,
and from something broken God makes beauty.
Horrific Hurricane Helene
On the night of Hurricane Helene, which was Thursday, September 26, the rain came pouring down hard, and the power went out. I was not too concerned as we live in the mountains of DuPont Forest and power outages are common due to storms. We have always been prepared for them, and Helene was no exception. I expected the power to be restored in two or three days; but I couldn’t have been more wrong. All day Friday it poured and soon our private pond was overflowing, creating a little creek that was gushing through the grass. Thankfully, no trees fell on our property or any of our next door neighbors. We soon realized that the cell service had gone out, which had never happened in our area during a storm. This meant no calling loved ones and no texting friends. This was around the time we realized that we were trapped, the roads were blocked by fallen trees. There was no way to get to any of the three towns near us. Luckily, we had plenty of food, well water, and a whole-house generator that we ran for just a couple of hours a day.
After realizing that the roads were blocked, my dad went out with a large group to cut up trees that blocked the road. Finally, on Sunday, the 29th, we decided to drive to the most accessible town, Hendersonville, to see what was going on. On our way there, we drove under low hanging trees, power lines that scraped the top of the car, and two places where the dirt had completely washed out from under the road. leaving it hanging in the air with no support under it! In Hendersonville, few gas stations were open and the ones that were had lines of cars hours long to get gas. After seeing more flooded businesses and the damage everywhere, we drove back home regretting that we ever had left. In fact, the road we had traversed, that had no support, collapsed, leaving the road closed for days.
Soon things slowly started getting back to normal; cell service came back, roads were reopened, and finally, after two weeks, the power came back on. Throughout the two weeks, we communed with our neighbors several times and grew closer together as we shared our generator power and others shared food. Even now, we are closer than we have ever been with our neighbors. The cost of Hurricane Helene was high; loss of buildings, houses, and lives, but for us, we gained stronger relationships with our neighbors and friends which was greater than anything my family lost.
How Helene Will Define My Future
I remember after almost two days of constant rain pouring down on Asheville, waking up to the aftermath of a hurricane that no one had anticipated would change our lives so much. Luckily, I was not one of the many people whose lives were completely up-ended. Being in the basement with no windows, I had slept through and woken up after the hurricane had already passed. At first, we thought that our neighborhood was in the eye of the storm, but after some time had passed and there was no second coming of the hurricane we were relieved. Fortunately, even though many of our trees had fallen, our house was safe. One of our cars had been totaled after a tree fell on it, and I have heard that during the aftermath of the storm, insurance companies tried to total as many cars as they could to get through the mountains of paperwork quicker.
As you may have figured we did not have power or water for weeks after the hurricane, and for those who tried to use cellular, it was hopeless until nighttime when there was less strain on it. I had many extracurricular activities that were affected by the hutTicane. As you can imagine, my soccer season was cut short and never resumed. I lost three or four weeks for deadlines that were not pushed back because of the hurricane, state-wide competitions would not be moved just because Asheville had less time.
My BSA (Boy Scouts of America) Troop is probably more known than ever after the building where we met was swept away by the French Broad and thousands of dollars worth of equipment was lost. Even BSA on a national scale is covering our story. Our Troop, Troop 26, was approaching its 70th anniversary. Many artifacts that have been with the Troop for decades have been washed away. 70 years of our Troop’s histoly were lost.
Even as I’m writing this our house has power and non-potable water restored, but we still are not living there. Our basement is incredibly damp, we constantly run a dehumidifier just to keep it in check- Imagine being unable to run the dehumidifier for almost two weeks to counter the water damage. Our house currently has mold throughout it, we have removed what we could see but the spores are still in the air. My family will be spending our Thanksgiving away from home, we can’t live in our house as is, and even if the mold problem does get softed out within the next month it is likely we still will not have potable water.
Hurricane Helene has changed my life in such a way that it will define the next few years of it. I will base events on when they are compared to Helene, I will be writing many papers on how it affected me, I know my brother is already talking about writing about Helene for his College Essay. Whenever I look outside my house, when I can return to residing there permanently, I will always be reminded of Helene by the view that used to be covered by the numerous trees scattered about our neighborhood. Whenever I look around Asheville I see fallen trees, piled-up logs, lines from where rivers crested, and many more subtle reminders of Helene that follow me wherever I go.
It Will Never Be The Same
“Check your email to see if we will have class this Friday. We are expecting a lot of rain so there could be some flooding.” That was what my physics teacher had said on September 27. It was the first I was hearing of this. The thought of not having class excited me. Ylhen it started raining that evening, I was secretly hoping it would continue, just so I wouldl not have to go to school. Had I known what “a lot of rain meant”, I may have prayed for the opposite.
Sure enough, the next day the rain was so heavy my yard resembled a swamp. My family had to raise our voices to be heard over the constant shushing of the downpour. My dog refused to go outside without us practically dragging her through the wet grass. My mom had gotten a few cases of water bottles, just in case we did not have water for a day or two. It was the only water she could get. Everyone seemed to have the same idea as her. I fell asleep quickly that night. I love the sound of rain. But soon new sounds woke me. I jerked awake as I heard the sound of our printer, microwave, computer, and every electronic device beeped back to life. The power had gone off but turned back on during the night. Looking at my phone, there was a flash flood warning until 2:45 that aftemoon. I happily went back to sleep, knowing that there was no school the next day.
Again I was jerked awake, this time by a loud crack that sounded like it was right next to my room. I heard the creaking and thump of a tree fall. It sounded too close to my room. My legs, still wobbly from just being asleep, carried me to my window. I craned my neck to look around but could not find the tree that had just fallen. That was until I looked down and saw it had fallen mere feet from my window. Both my stomach and my jaw dropped. I was extremely lucky that my walls were still intact.
I heard the familiar creak of a door and knew my father was coming. I was right. He flung my door open and immediately told me to gather any valuable belongings and bring them to the basement. He collected my brother and mother and told them the same thing. After I had collected my computer, my calculator, and some pictures, I joined my father in watching the news. Unfortunately, that was shon-lived as the power soon went out. The sound of the TV was replaced with the sound of more trees falling. I was not surprised when my parents ordered everyone into the basement.
We stayed down there for around four hours. I kept hoping that my car, my fish, my house, and my friends would all make it out alright. My brother was panicking because he had left his two motorcycles outside uncovered, however there was nothing he could do. There was nothing anyone could do. We could only sit and hope for the best.
The first sighting of sunlight was amazing. We had made it. We were okay. From the little communication I had, it seemed like all my loved ones were alright as well. My backyard was unrecognizable. My brother’s car had a tree on top of it. My childhood swing set was crushed. You could barely see into our backyard from all the trees that had fallen. Yet, our house was okay. My car was okay. My fish was okay. My brother’s motorcycles were okay, which was really a surprise.
Almost our entire neighborhood ventured outside and helped each other cut up trees blocking the road and clear limbs and leaves. I saw to people who I had never even seen before. I was surrounded by strangers, yet I felt a strange connection to each of them. We all lived in this neighborhood. We all just survived. We did not know how long it would be before we had power and water. We did not know how long it would be before things got back to normal. But right now, we were okay. We were together. It would all work out.
After living in darkness for two days, we decided we could not live like this. So we left. My brother went to a lake house with his friends. My mom went to stay with her mom. I stayed with my dad’s mom. My dad stayed home to take care of things at home. My dog also stayed home. I took my fish with me to make sure he got clean water since his heater and filter could not work without power.
I stayed away from home for a week. Having contact with the outside world now, I could see the news and social media talking about the hurricane. I heard about towns being wiped out. I heard about entire apartments being flooded to the ceiling. I heard about people dying. I was amazed at the fact that I had been right in the middle of this, yet had no idea how badly people just miles from my house had. I was grateful to make it out as unscathed as I had. I was so thankful that I was one of the lucky few that had not lost anyone to this storm.
I retract what I thought to myself on September 23. I wish it had not kept raining. I wish I could have gone to school that day. Western North Carolina will most likely never be quite the same as it was. People lost their lives, their pets, and their homes. However, I just have to focus on right now. And right now I am okay.
Hurricane Helene Reflection
When I first heard about Hurricane Helene, I only thought about it hitting Florida. I was never prepared for the destruction and panic the hurricane brought to North Carolina on September 27, 2024, and for many months after. That day I was woken at 6 AM, confused about why until my mom said she could hear trees creaking and cracking and told me to go downstairs. I thought it was urgent, so I took my phone and immediately went downstairs. It only sounded like heavy rain to me at first, however, I did not know the damage the downpour and ravaging wind would cause. I sat for 10 minutes until my siblings began waking up too after which we all sat in our basement getting comfy with blankets and pillows…. until the basement started flooding.
Water started draining into our house and we all tried to help by letting the water pour into a bucket and then dumping it outside. Honestly, I was living in the moment, not stressed or troubled, but laughing at the situation, (I suck at not laughing at serious situations when I first encounter it). After I knew it was safe to be upstairs, my mom told me to go look outside, and then I saw the damage the hurricane was creating.
Limbs and even trees were all tilting, everything seemed to be shaking, you could see the water raining sideways, and it was slightly foggy since it was early in the morning. It was a sight to see. On the side of the house, a tree was leaning dangerously low until it cracked and fell to the ground. I could not see it very well as the house was blocking parts of it and I did not want to move closer. It was impressive to see wind and rain take down a massive tree yet also alarming. I went back downstairs to check on my siblings only to see that our carpet was quickly soaking up water. The carpet grew darker as more water seeped in it until all was soaked and squeaky when you walked on it. It was then it hit me that our basement was going to flood badly. I did not know what to do so I asked my sister and she told me to gather everyone’s blankets and pillows and bring them all upstairs. I was distraught but did so and after that, I returned and saw my carpet rise, almost like bubbles, and the floor was fully submerged underwater. There was only so much we could do after that until the water receded. I do not remember feeling much stress at this time.
After moving furniture, we had to tear out the soggy carpet and some of the baseboards. My siblings and I were responsible for bleaching where the baseboards were and mopping the floor with it. Even though I could not smell great, it was said that the basement smelled much better after the bleaching session though it only lasted for so long.
There were, and still are, several piles of debris sitting in our backyard and along the side of our house just rotting there until someone moves it, which will probably not be for a long time. It was sad to see so many trees down but we could not do much about it. Trees were upended along with their roots and dirt and most of the root systems were taller than I was and sometimes taller than my dad. There were so many trees on the road blocking our only way out of the neighborhood that my dad and others had to chainsaw and move the trees to the side of the road. When you pass by our house, you can still see trees that look like they snapped like a twig and big sinkholes scattered on our property. The aftermath of Hurricane Helene was horrendous, but it did bring our family together (with much patience) to help everyone who was in need.