Swannanoa, North Carolina – Nearly a month after Hurricane Helen ravaged areas of the Southeast, killing more than 250 people, North Carolina residents are staying where their homes once were, even as nighttime temperatures dip into the 30s. sleeping in a tent.
Chris Weil is one of several people in hard-hit Swannanoa sleeping with their dogs in a tent outside their home, which was destroyed by severe flooding and strong winds on September 27th. Mr. Weil's story is nothing short of miraculous.
Less than 24 hours before the storm hit the Appalachians, Weil's eight-month pregnant girlfriend was rushed to the hospital complaining of chest pains. Weil was at home preparing for the birth when she started receiving flood alerts on her phone, unaware that she would soon be left with nothing.
Weil observed water rapidly flooding his neighborhood and entering his home.
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Chris Weil is sleeping in a tent outside his home that was destroyed by Hurricane Helen. (Fox News Digital)
“The house was completely washed off its foundations and we, myself, a friend and our three dogs were sucked in through the back window, but by chance we managed to survive until a swift water rescue boat came to rescue us. He had just come into town from Chicago, Illinois,” Weil told FOX News Digital. “They came and rescued us from the tree in a rescue boat and we are staying in tents.”
Water flooded Weil's house, forcing him out through a broken back window. As water poured in, he was able to grab onto a vine growing in a tree in his backyard with one hand and grab one of his dogs with the other.
A rescue boat from Cook County, Illinois, arrived about six hours later and transported Weil and his friend to safety.
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As water flooded Weil's house, he climbed out through a broken window. As water poured in, he was able to grab onto a vine growing in a tree in his backyard with one hand and grab one of his dogs with the other. (Fox News Digital)
“She would have been in that tree with me,” Weil said of his girlfriend, had she not gone to the hospital before the storm hit.
For days, Weil had no cell phone service or Wi-Fi to reach his girlfriend, but when he finally found a way to reach her, she was at UNC Medical Center in Chapel Hill. I learned that she had given birth to several healthy babies. There are only a few weeks left until the due date of October 20th.
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The couple named their baby “Sage Nevaeh.” Her middle name is “Heaven” spelled backwards. (Chris Weil)
The couple named their baby “Sage Nevaeh.” Her middle name is “Heaven” spelled backwards. Weil said Sage will be discharged from the NICU soon. His girlfriend qualified for a program that provides free temporary housing, and both she and her baby are doing well.
“There have been some miracles.”
“The church and the community have been some of the people who have helped us the most, and it's heartening to know that we are not forgotten. The people are amazing,” Weil said. “Their willpower and love for others is amazing.…They came here in droves and brought us everything we needed; I didn't want to go home until I knew it was okay.”
Chris Weil and his dog survived Hurricane Helen's flooding by clinging to vines on a tree in their backyard. (Fox News Digital)
Volunteers donated several tents, bicycles, food, a camp stove and propane to Vile and her dog. Emerge Ministries was able to find someone to donate a car so Vile could visit his girlfriend and newborn baby.
Less than a mile from Weil, Dara Cody and her neighbors sleep in tents where their home once stood in a picturesque garden on the banks of the Swannanoa River.
“For some reason, I couldn't sleep that night,” Cody said of the night Hurricane Helen struck, adding that he “kept checking the water level in the river behind his home, where he has lived since 2010. ” he added. .
Less than a mile from Weil, Dara Cody and her neighbors sleep in tents where their home once stood in a picturesque garden on the banks of the Swannanoa River. (Fox News Digital)
“Something wouldn't let me rest. I almost fell asleep many times, but something would wake me up,” she explained. “But I couldn't rest until about 5 in the morning when I woke up and went to look. … It jumped about 12 feet in half an hour … and it flew higher up in my garden and much deeper. It was there.”
At that point, Cody woke his partner and said, “You have to get up now. If you don't get up, you won't make it.”
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Volunteers from North Carolina Emerging Ministries help Dara Cody sort the debris after Helen. (Emerging ministries)
They grabbed whatever personal belongings they could and fled the house. The house is now a patch of dirt on the banks of the river, and that morning the river flowed far over its banks, destroying houses, cars, and land. The couple found shelter while Helen passed through the area, but when they returned to the site of their former home the next day, it was “completely gone.”
“Is this a dream? What is going on here? I didn't know how to feel,” Cody said.
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What the Dara Cody property looked like before Hurricane Helen. (Dara Cody)
“My house, my car, everything was completely gone. And the devastation, not only of my house, but of the whole town, was just heartbreaking…I have no words,” she said. “I was in shock. I was in pain. I was hurt. But my heart just broke for this whole town. I've lived here my whole life.”
“I was in shock. I was in pain. I was hurt. But my heart just broke for the whole town.”
In the weeks since, Cody has been trying to collect as much of the remains of his home as possible. Volunteers from Emerge Ministries are helping her clean up and sort the debris. At night, Cody, his partner, and a neighbor sleep in tents along the edge of the now-destroyed Swannanoa River.
She added that she is also a candidate for a tiny home “if the county allows it.”
Volunteers from Emerge Ministries are helping her clean up and sort the debris. (Emerging ministries)
“All the volunteers that came here went above and beyond our expectations and were more generous than we could have ever imagined,” Cody said. “They all did more for us than we ever imagined, especially strangers, for us. An outpouring of love, compassion, The generosity and people's donations…it's incredible.”
“They all did more for us than we ever imagined anyone else, especially strangers, would do for us.”
Shannon Martin Easley of Louisiana and Judy Norris of North Carolina are volunteers with Emerge Ministries who have been supporting Cody and others in the aftermath of Helen. The department has between 50 and 150 volunteers in the Western North Carolina region “from all over the country,” who provide assistance “every day,” Easley said.
A yellow “X” was spray-painted on the car, which was pinned between a house and a tree, meaning authorities did not find anyone inside. (Fox News Digital)
“My uncle cleared the driveway for him a few days ago and he hadn't seen a human in 20 days,” Easley said. “How many more people are like him?”
Volunteers from Ohio and Maryland also spoke to Fox News Digital in Swannanoa.
Martha Hershberger and her husband, Roy, of Shekinah Christian Fellowship of Ohio, serve hot meals under a tent in a parking lot off the main road in Swannanoa. She estimates she and other volunteers serve 1,500 to 2,000 meals per day.
Martha Hershberger of Abba's Heart Ministries International in Ohio serves hot meals under a tent in a parking lot off the main road in Swannanoa. She estimates she and other volunteers serve 1,500 to 2,000 meals per day. (Fox News Digital)
“We've dealt with some people who lost their homes, and we've talked to people who saw their neighbors drown and everything washed away,” Hershberger said. “We've talked to some people who have homes. They lost power for a little while, and they're all affected by the trauma of it.”
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Hershberger added that people in western North Carolina will need “long-term support.”
Several volunteers from Maryland expressed similar sentiments. Barbara Kaufman of A Lady and a Hop Maryland LLC, David Hawkins of Hawkins Landscaping, and Michelle Peyton of Pulling for Veterans all deliver goods and services to those in need. He came to Swannanoa from Frederick for the purpose of Kaufman said he went to the area to help people clean damaged homes.
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“You need boots on the ground and you need to pull the plow by hand,” Kaufman said. “The people here need help.”
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“Yeah, they shouldn't be sleeping in tents,” Peyton added.
A total of 26 North Carolinians remain missing after Helen's incident. The storm caused widespread damage in seven states, with some towns expected to take years to recover. Local residents and volunteers likened the devastation in Helen to a war zone.
