Blaze Media national correspondent Julio Rosas joined North Carolina Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) this week to assess the impact of Hurricane Helen and talk about the needs of small communities outside Asheville. distributed supplies to people in need.
Aerial footage showed destroyed buildings, fallen trees, washed away roads and severe flooding in some areas.
“These people are being hit hard.”
Blaze News spoke with Broad River Fire and Rescue officials on the ground.
“There's probably about two inches of water in here,” one member of the fire and rescue team told Rosas about the inside of the fire station. “And then two minutes later I was down to my knees. And I looked outside and it was chest deep.”
The man explained that he evacuated by climbing the stairs to the second floor of the fire station because the water level had risen. “The door rattled and water came in,” he explained.
Emergency workers said the force of the water moved a pickup truck parked in front of the department store halfway into the building. He said one of the fire trucks was completely destroyed by the floodwaters.
“It was unbelievable,” he continued. “I've been here all my life and I've never seen anything like this. My grandmother talked about the 1916 flood, and she says this is about the same. .”
Another official with the fire and rescue team said there was about 6 feet of water in the bay at the fire station.
“I see water marks on the wall,” he said.
When asked what he wants Americans to know about what's happening in the region, he told Rosas: Family helps family. ”
“In these small communities, many families will come together. They will share food and water,” he added.
Mike Cannon, another volunteer with 40 years of rescue experience, told Rosas he arrived Sunday morning.
“Words can't explain it,” he said. “This is the worst place I've been to. We've been to Harvey in Vermont and Hurricane Florence and Tropical Storm Irene. Those are our standards, but like here in North Carolina, we've been to Harvey and Hurricane Florence and Tropical Storm Irene. I have never seen such a tragedy.”
“They have a lot of resources, not only within the state, but also out of state and federally,” Cannon said. “But I think my thought process on this is that there are a lot of areas that are completely cut off, and it's going to take a long time for help to get in there. And the power grid around here is It doesn't look very good. I think the repairs will take a long time and these people will need a lot of help.”
“We know that, like many people, they are probably resilient, but these people have suffered severe damage to their personal lives and property here,” he added.
He noted that the landslide in the area was unlike anything he had seen before.
“We counted over 125 landslides yesterday just on reconnaissance flights in this fire district that we're in, and we stopped counting,” Cannon said.
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