Watauga Democrat Hurricane Helene Special Section

MOSS BRENNAN moss.brennan@wataugademocrat.com

Four days after Hurricane Helene swept through the High Country, Watauga County Emergency Services Director

Will Holt said they were working toward short-term recovery because they knew it was going to be a “years-long process.”

On Sept. 27, the second year of that process will begin with work still to be done.

Over the last year, Holt said the most significant challenge in the recovery process has been the sheer scope of the disaster as impacted areas across Western North Carolina compete for resources that would normally be available.

While he does not have a percentage of where the county stands in terms of recovery, Holt said that from the debris removal standpoint, the county has completed right-of-way removal and waterway removal, and is approximately 65% complete with the private property debris removal program.

Overall, the county has removed 400,000 cubic yards of debris from the water, 25,000 cubic yards through the PPDR program, and 165,000 cubic yards from the right-of-way removal program.

Many programs are still in

HURRICANE HELENE. ONE YEAR LATER.

making sure heating fuel deliveries, fire apparatus, and other aid can reach them.”

HURRICANE HELENE. ONE YEAR LATER.

All areas still have work to be done, Holt said, in varying degrees as they work through the waterway restoration process to help stabilize against future flooding, rebuild private roads and bridges, and continue the debris management program.

The county is still receiving support from nonprofit partners, including Baptists on Mission, the American Red Cross, Samaritan’s Purse, and other local nonprofits. Holt said the Long-term Recovery Group has also hired a local disaster case manager.

with overall response and repair costs currently estimated to be $12 million.

As they look to future storms, Holt said they have been working to diversify planning and communications, and pre-positioning additional assets to best reach varying areas of the county.

“We are emphasizing the need to be flexible, leveraging our community partners and codifying relationships,” Holt said. “We are actively incorporating lessons learned from the After-Action Review into our processes.”

progress, and some, such as private road and bridge reimbursement, are just now being implemented in the county. Economically, more than $20 million has been paid to citizens for restoration.

roadway repair. Many require more than one type of repair.

“These volunteer organizations have filled the gap where resources were lacking or completely absent,” Holt said.

HURRICANE HELENE. ONE YEAR LATER.

“Full recovery is still a years long process,” Holt said.

Across Watauga County, there have been 600 repair requests for private bridges and roads, but approximately 200 of those requests are duplicates. Those sites that still require repair serve approximately 1,750 households. Around a quarter of those sites will require bridge work, while some may need culvert, pipe, or

The private road and bridge program has taken longer than initially requested, Holt said, due to the nature of the quantity and scope of damages in WNC, which require the program to have a large rollout.

“Regulations surrounding who can build and what standards roads and bridges are rebuilt to cause this program to take longer in the start-up phase,” Holt said.

“Only permanent solutions are acceptable, and as such, those solutions are subject to adopted building codes, as they should be to truly assist residents in need by

NICK FOGLEMAN

nick.fogleman@wataugademocrat.com

WATAUGA — Hurricane Helene

struck the High Country just as businesses were preparing for a busy fall season. The storm’s unprecedented damage to roads, homes and businesses left much of the region’s economy struggling.

“This has been an unprecedented event, and the sheer scope of it has touched every part of the region, every part of the community, every part of the High Country in one way, shape or another,” said David Jackson, president and CEO of the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce.

The storm struck at the worst possible time: the fall tourism season. According to Jackson, many businesses report that October typically accounts for roughly 25% of annual revenue for many businesses, money that sustains them through the slower winter months.

“That is hibernating money for a lot of businesses that maybe are not as reliant on foot traffic in winter,” Jackson said. “They need that revenue from October, November to float them through the beginning of the year. And they didn’t have it.”

According to the Chamber’s economic indicators report, occupancy tax collections fell nearly 89% year over year, from $1,019,077 in October 2023 to just $109,707 in October 2024. September’s collections also dropped sharply, from $370,606 in 2023 to $235,595 in 2024.

Net sales tax collections showed some resilience, likely from recovery-related purchases, but October 2024 still dropped to $2.96 million,

down from nearly $3.6 million in August.

Jackson said recovery began to take shape with the return of Appalachian State University students and the start of ski season.

“You saw a lag really until mid-November,” he said. “Even in late October, early November, we were still very much an active disaster scene, and that didn’t really change until we got a little closer to Thanksgiving and toward the holidays.”

By late November, visitor traffic had started to return, although many areas still resembled disaster zones well into the holiday season. Relief came not just from reopened attractions but from on-the-ground support.

“One of the most helpful things we had here was the presence of FEMA and SBA staff,” Jackson said, while also acknowledging issues with the federal programs. “They taught us a language that we didn’t know… That is worth its weight in gold.”

Despite setbacks, local business resilience defined the recovery.

“One of the first phone calls I got that Saturday morning when my phone started to work again was from Stick Boy,” Jackson recalled. “They said, ‘We’ve got a freezer that we’re going to lose a whole bunch of stuff. We’re just going to start pumping out some bread and some coffee, and you just tell people if they need bread or coffee, come by here. We’re giving it away.’ That’s this community in a nutshell.”

By early 2025, some economic indicators showed signs of recovery. Occupancy tax collections in January

Another concern in the recovery process is the funding from the federal level. Holt said that there are concerns with future preparedness grants and changing guidance for programs vital to response and recovery.

Recovery prioritization has been driven by federal and state timelines on their specific disaster recovery programs.

“As these become available, we move our recovery in step,” Holt said.

Holt estimates that direct costs (debris and emergency response) are approximately $9 million,

Holt said they are also working with commercial and state public safety partners to upgrade systems as they can, “but funding remains a challenge to make that happen. Locally, satellite redundant systems have been acquired to help local partners stay connected.

“This year has truly shown the grit of our community like never before,” Holt said. “There have been many bumps in the road as programs, guidance, and overall external support has changed the farther we get from Sept. 27, but the support of our key partners and local community has never wavered. Helene will be a benchmark for our community forever, and one that we continue to incorporate lessons learned for when the next major event happens.”

One year after Helene, recovery groups still working in Watauga

NICK FOGLEMAN

nick.fogleman@wataugademocrat.com

BOONE — A year after Hurricane Helene dropped more than 25 inches of rain across the High Country, relief groups say recovery is far from over. While downtown areas may appear normal, leaders on the ground point to families still displaced, homes that remain unsafe and costs that continue to overwhelm.

In Foscoe, Army veteran Sherrye Trice began knocking on doors after the storm to check on neighbors. Her efforts soon evolved into Foscoe Home Team, a volunteer-run relief store that still serves approximately 500 people each week.

“We’re serving more people now than we were right after the storm,” Trice said.

The store operates on a client-choice model, allowing customers to shop for food, cleaning supplies, and household essentials. Trice said the goal is to offset everyday costs

so families can put money toward repairs. She described situations she has seen, including people still displaced by damage, houses inundated with mold and an increase in drug relapse.

“This has exposed how financially fragile our communities already are. So many people are one paycheck away from crisis, not from concern, but crisis,” Trice said.

Foscoe Home Team is currently seeking donations, volunteers and a grant writer. More information is available at foscoehometeam.org. Other organizations are also working on rebuilding infrastructure and repairing homes damaged in the storm. Samaritan’s Purse continues its rebuild program, which

Road and bridge repairs continue one year after Hurricane

ZACH COLBURN

zach.colburn@wataugademocrat.com

Many roads and bridges in the High Country were severely damaged or destroyed when Hurricane Helene swept through Western North Carolina. The storm damaged nearly 9,400 sites, resulting in the closure of 1,400 state-maintained roads and damaged 818 state-maintained bridges. Even a year later, several primary and secondary roads are still not fully operational across Western North Carolina despite substantial progress made, according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation. The trio of Watauga, Ashe and Avery counties are a part of Division 11, which also includes Alleghany, Caldwell,

Surry, Wilkes and Yadkin counties.

“Responding to Hurricane Helene has been our top priority since it ripped through Western North Carolina last year,” the NCDOT said in a statement to the Watauga Democrat. “From

our crews put

their own problems to reconnect

Watauga’s rivers still healing as restoration efforts continue

NICK FOGLEMAN

nick.fogleman@wataugademocrat.com

BOONE — One year after Hurricane Helene, public officials and conservation groups say the town’s streams and rivers are still showing signs of damage, but long-term recovery work is underway. Town staff, county conservationists and riverkeepers say the work now ranges from stabilizing eroded banks to mapping every stormwater pipe in Boone and teaching residents how to keep runoff on their own land.

Helene’s floodwaters chewed through banks, rerouted channels and stripped vegetation along creeks, streams and river systems. In some places, streams reverted to their historical alignments, complicating driveway and culvert crossings.

“Resiliency has now become something that is part of almost every conversation as we develop different sites or look at different projects,” said George Santucci, Boone’s sustainability and special projects manager.

The storm’s most persistent ecological wound is sediment. Santucci likens it to air pollution.

“I equate sediment to smog,” he said. “If you breathe through gills at the bottom of a river, that sediment has the same effect.”

Unstable, unvegetated banks shed fine material that clouds the water and fills the cavities where aquatic insects and salamanders live, undermining the food base for trout and the recreation economy that depends on them.

On the ground, damage remains visible. The town completed two temporary repairs at Winkler Creek in the Elizabeth Young Community Garden. A similar stabilization and re-vegetation project was installed along Casey Lane near the wastewater treatment plant.

Those fixes, Santucci said, were necessary stopgaps while Boone

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reached $702,565, slightly above January 2024’s $688,154. February 2025 collections totaled $511,157, while sales tax revenue climbed to $2.73 million, higher than the year before.

Still, challenges linger.

“We did not have the strong summer that we were hoping for, and there’s a lot of reasons for that,” Jackson said. “Part of it is Helene hangover, part of that is economic instability, tariffs and the pullback of discretionary spending. All that matters.”

In April and May 2025,

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communities and restore access to local economies as quickly as possible.”

According to data from the NCDOT, a total of 318 road closures were initially reported across Division 11 following the hurricane.Of those closures, all but six have reopened, and the remaining closures — which have detours — are due to washed out bridges. Those six are:

 Dale Adams Road due to bridge #940095 being washed out (Watauga)

 Circle Drive West due to bridge 940280 being washed out (Watauga)

 Hopewell Church Road due to damage to bridge #940187 (Watauga)

 Castle Ford Road near the intersection of River Road due to bridge #940089 being washed out (Watauga)

 Big Windfall Road at mile marker 0.2 due to slope failure worsening (Ashe)

 Willie Brown Road just east of the Smithey Road intersection due to bridge #040121 being washed out (Ashe) Thirty-nine bridges were destroyed by Helene in Division 11, but as of Sept. 19, 15 have been replaced, and construction and design work continue on the remaining bridges.

The NCDOT was awarded an emergency express design-build contract to Blythe Development LLC earlier this year to replace box culverts on N.C. 105 and N.C. 184.

They expect construction to begin on the N.C. 105 culvert this fall, while construction on the N.C. 184 culvert should begin next year. “A year after the storm, we

contracted an engineering firm to inventory conditions along every stream in town and prioritize long-term restoration. A multi-million-dollar grant application now pending would fund four restoration projects. Boone is also finishing a comprehensive inventory of its stormwater system. The project, initiated before Helene and updated afterward, documents the location, material, and condition of every pipe, along with its installation age and expected lifespan. The goal is to pinpoint vulnerable segments exposed by the storm and sequence replacements where they will do the most good.

Regional nonprofits have carried a heavy share of the

occupancy taxes, $476,916 and $584,935, respectively, outpaced 2024 levels, and more than 60% of surveyed businesses rated their condition at “6 or higher.”

Still, reliable revenue streams and financial stability remain top concerns, with half of businesses reporting they failed to meet revenue expectations in April.

“This has been a shaky year for businesses, even after the storm,” Jackson said. “We are not in a position to take on another disruption. Even the most minor disruption hurts right now, more so than it normally would.”

remain inspired by the strength of the community to withstand and overcome Helene,” the NCDOT said in a statement. “Our response to this storm could not have been this successful without support from our families, neighbors, contractors, state and federal partners, other NCDOT divisions and even other states.”

Other ongoing projects include efforts to replace a bridge over the South Fork New River on Castle Ford Road near River Road. That construction is expected to be finished in the spring. Smith-Rowe, LLC, of Mount Airy, was awarded the $2.4 million contract to replace the bridge.

The NCDOT also stated that planning is underway to replace the bridge on Avery High School Road in Newland next summer to minimize impacts to local school traffic.

Temporary repairs were finished shortly after the storm to restore the connection between N.C. 181 and N.C. 194.

“The repairs and replacements on those roads will improve their resilience to future flood events,” said the NCDOT. “Helene helped us modernize our response to disasters. We learned how to overcome extended power outages, communication challenges and scarce resources. We’ve embraced new technology to prepare, plan and respond to disaster when they strike.

“We are all neighbors helping neighbors. Our work will continue until every state-maintained road and bridge Helene damaged has reopened.”

To view all of the current and previous road closures due to Hurricane Helene, visit tinyurl. com/7xtmjv3u.

a house,” Woodburn said. The DEQ grant also supports bank stabilization and reseeding where heavy machinery disturbed banks during the emergency phase. Woodburn’s team has also leaned into water-quality readings, using environmental DNA testing, including human-specific markers, to trace contamination sources and hotspots. One pattern is clear: short, intense microburst rains now produce sharper bacteria spikes and slower clearing than before, a trend she ties to exposed banks and ongoing disturbance.

designed channel work aims to narrow and stabilize wide, shallow reaches so streams can “flush” deposited sediment and reopen habitats.

Bonville warns that an ongoing driver impacting flooding is impervious surfaces, pavement and compacted yards that shoot water straight to the channel, amplifying erosion and flood peaks.

“If all these hard surfaces just shoot water to the river, it will worsen our flooding,” he said.

debris-removal and monitoring work.

Hannah Woodburn, the Upper New Riverkeeper with MountainTrue, said a new North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality grant will fund debris crews for roughly the next 16 months across affected counties. The High Country crew is already active and has removed thousands of pounds from tributaries in the past month. That program builds on a massive push immediately after the storm, where partners had already pulled more than 3 million pounds of storm debris from waterways region-wide.

“You’ll be floating and it looks like a normal day, and then there’s a propane tank or parts of

At the county level, the focus has been on stabilization and public safety. Watauga Soil and Water Conservation Technician Brian Bonville is administering the USDA-NRCS Emergency Watershed Protection program, which repairs channels altered by Helene that now threaten life, property or infrastructure. He estimates his office has assessed hundreds of sites based on citizen referrals, ranging from streams that jumped their banks into septic fields, backyards or wells to channels shifted by landslides that block access to homes. EWP is a referral process rather than a public application portal.

Residents can contact Bonville, who evaluates and routes sites to appropriate funding. Assessments are “wrapping up,” he said, with submittals for federal funding and engineering underway and public bidding for repair work expected in late September. Bonville can be reached at brian.boneville@watgov.com.

While much of Helene-specific debris has been removed, some caches are likely to reappear as vegetation dies back this fall and winter. Sediment sources also persist wherever mature woody vegetation is missing. Grass alone is not sufficient for bank stability or water filtration; rooted, woody buffers are the backbone of stream recovery. Properly

Winter adds its own near-term risks, such as unmanaged roadside runoff that freezes into ice patches and rockfall or minor slides where slopes lack diverse native cover.

For aquatic life, the snapshot is mixed but trending hopeful. Anglers and surveys report good fish diversity and strong numbers in many stretches, and fall through winter remains prime fishing even if word hasn’t fully reached tourists. Hellbenders are more complicated as some, previously strong sites show declines, while others suggest increased recolonization as animals search for intact habitat amid widespread disruption.

Much of the continued work will involve repairing the riparian buffers, the 25 to 100-footwide area around the rivers. These areas feed the food web with leaves and wood, shade the water to boost dissolved oxygen, filter runoff, slow flood peaks and reconnect rivers to their floodplains.

“Anywhere there’s a bank without mature woody vegetation, there’s a sediment source,” Santucci said.

And despite the hard lessons of the last year, he remains confident.

“In general, I’m optimistic,” he said. “The town and the community are doing wonderful things to maintain and improve our water quality.”

One year of lessons: Blue Ridge Energy reflects on Helene’s impact to the power grid

MOSS BRENNAN moss.brennan@wataugademocrat.com

When Hurricane Helene ripped through Western North Carolina, it caused unprecedented damage to the power grid. In Blue Ridge Energy’s region, approximately 63,000 customers were left without power as powerful winds and rushing water uprooted trees and tore down power poles. It took more than two weeks — and more than 500 people from across the state and eastern United States — to fully restore power to every customer.

A year and $28 million in recovery costs later, the utility is still dealing with some impacts from Helene as compromised tree root systems threaten power lines across the mountainous region, requiring an expanded effort to identify and remove “leaners and hangers” before they cause new outages.

“As a utility, we continuously perform maintenance to ensure the integrity of the system and reliability for our members,” BRE Director of Public Relations Renee Walker said. “Whether that’s during the regular patrolling of our system or implementing work according to our short- and long-term engineering plans, we continuously work on reliability.”

Overall, the storm-related recovery cost for BRE was around $28 million. The cooperative initiated the FEMA reimbursement process early and has already received part of the reimbursement; they are now coordinating with FEMA to secure the remaining amount.

Over the last year, the most significant impact on the BRE’s system and reliability has been the effect Helene had on the root systems of trees.

“The impact has become more apparent over time, especially with each storm or high wind event,” Walker said. “Often, a tree can appear healthy, but the root system you don’t see has been severely compromised, and the tree will eventually fall in many cases. We have a very dedicated right-of-way effort and have stepped up this program to help address this issue.”

BRE patrols — by foot and by air — the more than 8,000 miles of power lines to identify trees and limbs that are threatening power lines and reliability to help reduce outages.

“Our line technicians have worked a lot of overtime the past year to restore power in addressing tree-related outages,” Walker said.

They have specifically stepped up right-of-way efforts in Ashe and Watauga counties, which is where some of the most widespread damage occurred in the mountain service area.

One thing Helene confirmed was the value of BRE’s existing infrastructure investments. The electric grid was — and still is — strong, and the “redundancies” or backup power feeds that were already in place helped minimize some outages during the storm. Now, Walker said they are evaluating where they can add even more.

“We have access points to our system, which are extremely critical at any time but especially during an outage, so we are evaluating where we can add even more access points to our power poles and lines that could help during outages,” Walker said.

While BRE regularly plans and prepares for storms, each one provides an opportunity to test and practice its emergency response plan. However, those plans are not always tested by a catastrophic storm like Helene.

“Our belief that we have a solid Emergency Response Plan and the electric cooperative network of mutual aid assistance in our state and nation was reinforced. We also have a strong plan that worked with our right-ofway contractors (who helped with trees), line crew contractors, and

road and grading contractors who were critical during this storm,” Walker said. “Each and every employee played a role in recovery, and their dedication to the members and communities was truly heroic! During this storm, cellular and internet service was sparse at best. We had the opportunity to test our communication equipment that was not reliant upon that and fine-tune how we continue operating effectively when these services are down in a catastrophic situation.”

Since the storm, BRE has added more all-terrain vehicles to help workers get into some of the most difficult-to-reach areas in the very mountainous, rugged terrain. BRE has also intentionally ramped up its drone program, which they can use for damage assessment efforts to expedite power restoration.

“We cannot emphasize enough the appreciation we have for each and every employee—it was a full team effort and everyone played a role in the recovery from Helene. We also greatly appreciate our communities, who were supportive in so many ways throughout the storm,” Walker said. “We’re especially thankful for the safe work of our line technicians and visiting crews. They worked safely with no accidents in some of the most dangerous conditions imaginable. Our Blue Ridge crews have continued to work many hours on weekends and overtime to restore power caused by

to trees that revealed itself over the weeks and months following Helene.”

Wine To Water deepens commitment to WNC recovery after Hurricane Helene

STAFF REPORT

news@wataugademocrat.com

When Hurricane Helene swept across Western North Carolina in September 2024, it unleashed one of the most catastrophic inland flooding events in the region’s history. Homes were lost, wells were contaminated, and thousands were left without access to clean water.

Within 48 hours, Wine To Water (WTW), an international nonprofit headquartered in Boone, mobilized a rapid response, delivering safe water, vital supplies, and hope to the hardest-hit communities.

Over the past year, Wine To Water and more than 1,300 dedicated volunteers have:

 Provided free water testing in 23 counties, completing 920+ water quality tests to ensure private wells and spring boxes remain safe

 Distributed over 400,000 gallons of clean drinking water

 Delivered 1.2 million pounds of emergency supplies

 Continued providing filters, hygiene kits, and bulk water to families still in need

While WTW still offers free water quality testing, recovery efforts have transitioned to water-system repairs and disinfections to ensure safe, longterm access to drinking water.

“Western North Carolina is our home, and our recovery from Hurricane Helene has shown just how strong and united our community is,” said Jeremy Kilday, U.S. Program Director at WTW. “Over the past year, we’ve come a long way — working side by

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includes new homes, mobile home replacements, significant repairs, and infrastructure projects such as driveways, bridges and culverts. Furniture and material assistance are available to both renters and homeowners, and the group is providing grants to churches that were damaged by the storm. All services are provided at no cost.

So far, the N.C.-based organization has completed or is in the process of constructing more than 40 brand-new homes and has delivered 17 mobile homes with an additional 30 in progress. Samaritan’s Purse has also replaced 223 ruined vehicles, provided furniture and appliances to more than 2,900 families, and supplied over 170 campers as short-term housing solutions.

“In the year since Hurricane Helene, we’ve seen the resilience and inspiring faith of our neighbors as communities work toward recovery,” said Luther Harrison, vice president of North American Ministries for Samaritan’s Purse. “This is only the beginning of recovery for western North Carolina, and we are committed to helping for the long haul. With God’s help, we look forward to welcoming hundreds of families home again in the years ahead.”

The organization remains active in Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Madison, Mitchell, Watauga and Yancey counties, as well as Johnson County, Tennessee. Applications for assistance are still being accepted at SamaritansPurse.org/ HeleneRebuild.

Stateline Resource Station also formed in the days after Helene, when volunteers set up a supply hub at Zionville Ramp Company. Co-founder Valentine Reilly said the effort began out of immediate need.

“By the end of the day, we had run out and restocked three times,” she recalled. Within days, helicopters began dropping supplies, and the warehouse became a regional hub.

For three months, the group distributed food, water, heaters, generators, clothing, cleaning supplies and other essentials. Since January, Stateline has shifted into long-term recovery, providing construction materials and operating the Brittany’s Fund Recovery Grant Program in partnership with Mountain Mermaids.

The program offers up to $3,000 to families or small businesses that lost homes or property.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Wine to Water provided free water testing in 23 counties, completing 920+ water quality tests to ensure private wells and spring boxes remain safe.

side with families, community organizations, and local agencies to restore safe water access.

But our work doesn’t end here. We’re committed to continuing this journey, walking with our neighbors to ensure households have access to the clean, safe water they need to thrive.”

Wine To Water will host a free public commemoration event from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 26, at Appalachian Mountain Brewery in Boone.

The evening will include reflections from community partners and families impacted, stories of resilience and recovery, complimentary food and drinks (with RSVP) courtesy of FiltersFast.com, live music and opportunities to get involved in ongoing recovery work

To RSVP for free, visit hurricaneheleneoneyearcommemoration.eventbrite.com

To support the organization’s work in Western North Carolina, visit give.wtw.org/ wnc2025.

“So far, we’ve given out a little over 20 grants, about $40,000, and we have about another 100 applicants in process,” Reilly said.

She added that recovery looks very different depending on where you live. “

You can look around downtown Boone or Asheville and say, ‘Oh, it’s not that bad.’ But down every holler, you’re going to have homes and people who are just devastated and still working to rebuild,” she said. “It’s such a long recovery process.”

Stateline will mark the anniversary with a Sept. 27 benefit concert by mountain dulcimer player Steven Seifert. More information is available at StatelineResourceStation.org.

Several organizations have also joined together under the Watauga Long-Term Recovery Group, chaired by Wesley Smith of the Three Forks Baptist Association. The group coordinates nonprofits, churches and agencies to reduce duplication of services and fill gaps in care.

“Our goal is to collaborate with nonprofits and faith-based organizations that are continuing to rebuild and recover,”

Smith said. “Obviously, our goal is to see our community recover from Helene, but this group is not just recovering for Helene. We want to be ready for any type of community crisis.”

Smith said the most significant needs today remain rebuilding homes, debris removal, and mental health services. “We believe emotional support and mental health are going to be a big piece that we need to help provide,” he said.

“Our emotional and spiritual support team is identifying providers that we can refer families to.”

He noted that some organizations have already completed new homes. Baptists on Mission have completed approximately 25 houses in Watauga, Ashe and Avery counties, with 85 more in progress. Volunteers say the anniversary is both a milestone and a reminder.

“The devastation of Helene will be felt for generations,”

Trice said. “How do you go home for a Sunday dinner with your grandparents when part of the house is gone, when the bridge to get there is gone? How do people recover without help?”

For information on local recovery resources, visit WataugaLTRG.org, SamaritansPurse. org/HeleneRebuild or FoscoeHomeTeam.org.

What made Hurricane Helene a historic storm?

App State experts break down the factors that led to disastrous impacts across the Southern Appalachians

BRIAN MILLER

Appalachian State University

In September 2024, Hurricane Helene brought record-breaking rain and wind to the High Country, leaving a lasting impact across the region. It marked Boone’s most devastating flood event since 1940 — and before that, 1916.

“Since we’ve been recording weather in Western North Carolina, it’s the most dangerous and impactful disaster ever,” said Dr. Shea Tuberty, professor in Appalachian State University’s Department of Biology and director of App State’s Quality Enhancement Plan, Pathways to Resilience.

According to the National Weather Service, Hurricane Helene — combined with a band of heavy rain that preceded the storm’s arrival — dropped upwards of 30 inches of rain in some areas of the Southern Appalachians and around 10 to 20 inches of rain across most of the High Country. Wind gusts ranged from 40 mph in valleys to more than 100 mph on some mountaintops. These elements triggered widespread flooding, landslides, downed trees and power outages.

The North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management estimated $59.6 billion in damages across the state — nearly four times the impact of Hurricane Florence in 2018. The documented impacts are staggering:

 4.6 million people — more than 40% of the state’s population — lived in one of the designated disaster areas.

 More than 100 people died from the storm.

 Thousands of homes were destroyed, and tens of thousands more were damaged.

 Thousands of miles of roads and bridges were damaged.

 Millions of people lost access to water, electricity, telecommunications and health care facilities.

“When it hit, it just hung around — and that’s actually fairly typical for the mountains, for storms to stick in place,” said Dr. William Anderson, professor in App State’s Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences. “Since the ground was already saturated before the hurricane, then you get one to two feet of rain in a very short period of time — you’re kind of asking for trouble.”

Anderson attributes these quick and heavy downpours to the orographic effect — a phenomenon in which air flow is disrupted by mountains, leading to changes in weather patterns and increases in rainfall.

Dr. Christopher Thaxton, professor in App State’s Department of Physics and Astronomy and director of the university’s atmospheric science minor, said that while projections for Boone called for very high rainfall totals, many locals were still surprised by the storm’s immense impact.

“It’s hard because existing weather models don’t always do a good job of representing weather in the mountains,” said Thaxton.

“Most models have been developed for places that are nice and flat, because the equations are a lot easier to solve. It certainly places a lot of value on local forecasts that use historical information and knowledge of the Southern Appalachians to give more accurate predictions.”

Tuberty — who lived in hurricane alley for more than a decade, including in New Orleans and Pensacola, Florida — echoed that sentiment, emphasizing the importance of keeping a close eye on local weather, even in areas not typically prone to disasters such as Helene.

From steep slopes to narrow floodways, mountains have unique hurricane hazards

Hurricane Helene’s historic impact extended far beyond flooding. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the storm triggered more than 2,000 landslides in less than a week.

Anderson said landslides are one of several factors that make hurricanes uniquely dangerous in the mountains, where steep slopes and narrow floodways cause damage to occur much faster than on the

coast.

“In the mountains, when you get these big rainfall events, the water level is going to rise — but it’s also going to drop very quickly because of that steep slope — and that’s how we get all of these flash floods,” he said. “When a big storm hits the coastal plain, it’s a different story that can persist for weeks.”

Anderson explained that in the mountains, water often moves much faster than in coastal floods because of the steep slopes. This rapid flow erodes banks and hillsides quickly, which is the primary reason so many landslides occurred and trees came down during the storm.

Another unique impact the hurricane had on the region was the devastation to bridges, which were among the hardest hit infrastructure. According to the North Carolina Department of Transportation, nearly 7,000 roads and bridges were damaged from the storm.

“A lot of bridges here connect communities, so when they were destroyed, people were isolated,” said Thaxton. “A lot of the small, family-built bridges just aren’t designed to take it. To put it in perspective, even some state bridges were blown away.”

Tuberty said that in a region that doesn’t experience natural disasters like this very often, damage can escalate from a lack of foresight and preparation.

“Because of the history of flooding along the coast, most places have learned their lesson and haven’t built right against the water like you have here,” he said. “In our area, you will see houses with a stream underneath the back porch — literally over the water — and those places didn’t make it.”

Tuberty added that building homes in hazardous areas is a common issue in the mountains — but sometimes it can’t be avoided.

“All the landslides happened in places that would have been predicted, and probably those houses were built on previous landslide debris fields — because that’s the only flat place they could find,” he said. “Building toward better resiliency in the future might mean that there’s better policy about where you put your homes.”

Looking ahead, Anderson anticipates Western North Carolina could become even more susceptible to flooding and landslides due to landscape changes following the storm.

“Think of how many trees have come down,” he said. “Because of their roots, they’re pretty good for slope stability, and they add cohesion to the soil. All the ones that have blown over or that we’ve pulled out are going to decay over time. So we’re going to lose that added strength, and that will likely cause more slope failure down the line.”

Tuberty added that because of this, restoration experts point to replanting along streams and steep slopes as a key priority for the area’s recovery.

A warmer atmosphere holds more water — and stronger storms

Both Tuberty and Thaxton agree that storms such as Hurricane Helene are becoming more intense and more frequent due to the warming of the atmosphere.

“A warmer atmosphere holds more precipitable water,” Thaxton said, “which leads to higher rainfall amounts, higher rainfall rates and greater intensities associated with storms such as this.” Tuberty explained that because of temperature changes that have

already occurred over the past several decades, Helene carried an estimated 10% more water than it would have in the past — and wind speeds were more than 10% stronger.

He added that the standard predictions for storm return intervals — such as 1,000-year or 100year storms — are proving to be inaccurate.

“By some measurements, this was a 7,000-year storm,” Tuberty said. “But it happened in 1916, and again in 1940 — so we’ve had three storms of this magnitude in just 110 years.”

According to the North Carolina State Climate Office, 2018 was the wettest year on record in Boone and the state, and 2020 was the second wettest. As for heat, 2019 was the warmest year on record, and 2024 was a close second. Overall, the data shows a slow but steady increase in both heat and precipitation over the past 100 years.

“By 2100 here in the Southern Appalachians, we’re not really predicting huge changes in temperature as much as we are predicting more intense precipitation events and flooding,” said Tuberty. “In 2018, for example, we had about 93 inches of rain, well above the average of 59 inches, and it all came in seven huge events.”

Thaxton noted that these increasingly intense bursts of rain are also countered by longer periods of drought, which bring on a whole new set of problems. Helene sparks a call for disaster preparedness

With weather trends pointing to a greater likelihood of severe weather events in the region, Tuberty said it’s best to start preparing now.

“It made us realize we need to spend some time getting prepared for a week or two without power,” he said. “A lot of folks had no water or food and weren’t really ready at all. We quickly found out who the resourceful folks were — those who had chainsaws, tractors, generators, those sorts of things.

This probably isn’t going to be a one-off thing, so I’d be surprised if people didn’t learn from this.”

Anderson said multiple researchers at App State have established monitoring networks and data collection systems to study Hurricane Helene and better predict future weather impacts.

“It’s so important to see longterm trends on what’s happening,” he said. “We can see how the landscape is changing, how rivers are being affected — all sorts of things. We are definitely working toward a better future, and science can help us learn and prioritize going forward.”

Since Helene, App State researchers have consistently worked to map landslide risks in the area, better understand flooding and its ecological impacts on rivers, track storms and atmospheric trends and much more.

Outside of research, and to look at the hurricane in a positive light, Thaxton said one of his biggest takeaways from the storm was the overwhelming sense of community it sparked.

“That sense of community — with people from very different political and economic backgrounds working together side by side — it’s inspiring,” he said. “It really drove a sense of home for me.”

Now, as the region rebuilds and researchers continue their work, one lesson from Hurricane

is clear: In the face of challenges, awareness, education and community matter now more than ever.

Photos: Hurricane Helene then and now

MIKE SUNNUCKS

Adams MultiMedia

A year ago, Hurricane Helene rampaged through Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee with high winds, biblical rains and destructive storm surges and floods that left 252 people dead and caused an estimated $79 billion in damage.

A few weeks later, Hurricane Milton slammed Florida and Georgia, killing 46 people and causing another $34 billion in damage.

Helene brought torrential rains and deadly floods to areas of the Carolinas and Appalachia, with warmer ocean water fueling larger and more destructive hurricanes.

Some areas saw historic amounts of rain and major power outages from Helene’s monstrous storm clouds.

Parts of Transylvania and Yancey counties in North Carolina were hit with 30 inches of rain. Greenville, South Carolina, saw 21.66 inches.

Heavy rains stretched from Florida to Ohio and Indiana, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

From Western Carolina and Appalachia to Florida’s Gulf coast and southern Georgia, communities are still healing and rebuilding from last year’s devastating hurricane season.

Those on the frontlines of the recovery efforts say progress has been made, but more work and challenges remain.

‘NEARLY EVERY STRUCTURE’

KATHY KMONICEK

Employees Linda Bandy, left, and Carissa Sheehan clean up International Moulding frame shop damaged by ood water from Hurricane Helene on North Green Street, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, in Morganton, N.C. (AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek)

the storm surges is slated to start “in the coming months.”

Other communities and tourist attractions in Helene’s path have also reopened and have been marketing and advertising that to targeted audiences.

That includes Asheville, the popular arts and tourism hub in western North Carolina.

MTP Executive Editor Moss Brennan presented a donation to WAMY, made possible through a portion of the

ing

from Heart of

Moss Brennan, Executive

Allison Jen-

Director of Development, Taylor Fines, Finance Assistant, Kylie Luxton, Volunteer. Back row left to right: Seth Morre, Intake Specialist, Tyler Holden, Housing Rehabilitation Specialist, Corey Babay, Finance Director, So a de Camera, Hurricane Relief Specialist, Brittany Luxton, Executive Director, Sarah Freer-Balduf, Director of Administration.

Heart of the High Country proceeds still making an impact one year later

A year ago, Mountain Times Publications’ three leading newspapers were covering the devastation that Hurricane Helene brought to Western North Carolina.

When recovery efforts were well underway and the immediate needs were being addressed, staff began to brainstorm ways to not only tell the many stories of the community pulling together and helping one another, but also how to give back to help with relief efforts. That became Heart of the High Country. Released at the end of December, the 120-page magazine shared more than 50 stories of firsthand accounts of recovery efforts, acts of kindness and community strength in the aftermath of the storm. A portion of advertising proceeds and 100% of its sales were earmarked to support relief and community organizations. So far, donations have been made to W.A.M.Y

approval after the storms.

That prompted Treasure Island and other localities to take fresh looks at its emergency planning and response, Barrs said.

Community Action, Feeding Avery Families, and — most recently — Samaritan’s Purse.

“We are proud that we can continue to donate to Hurricane Helene relief efforts in our community,” said Mountain Times Publications Executive Editor Moss Brennan. “Every dollar we have donated so far is going back to the communities we cover as they continue to work to help people recover from the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene, even a year later.” More donations will be announced in the coming weeks for continued relief efforts.

To pick up a physical copy of the magazine, visit the Watauga Democrat (584 State Farm Rd., Boone), the Avery Journal Times (428 Pineola Street, Newland) or the Ashe Post and Times (7 East Main St, West Jefferson).

To view the magazine online, visit tinyurl. com/3y2c5wav.

direction since late October 2024.”

Forty-seven of the 49 impacted state and local roadway areas have reopened, with the two remaining areas under contract to be repaired this fall and next spring.

Some of those same areas were hit in October by Hurricane Milton.

“We had widespread flooding during Helene, with nearly every structure in the city taking water, some as much as 5 feet.

Milton tore off roofs from condos and knocked down trees and power poles, many residents were without power and water for 7 to 10 days,” said Trip Barrs, fire chief in the beach town of Treasure Island in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area. Other parts of Florida also got hit by both hurricanes.

“Helene impacted some of our coastal areas on Sept. 26 last year, and then Hurricane Milton impacted a much broader area of Lee County mere days later on Oct. 9,” said Betsy Clayton, communications director for Lee County, which includes Fort Myers. That area of southwest Florida experienced a storm surge of more than 5 feet and 6 inches of rain in a short period from Hurricane Helene.

A few weeks later, Milton brought winds of 120 miles per hour, a 6.8-inch storm surge in Lee County

On Florida’s Gulf coast, Hurricane Helene brought historic storm surges and flooding to the southwestern parts of the state as well as the Big Bend and Tampa Bay areas.

and heavy rains. Parts of Florida saw numerous tornadoes.

Lee County collected more than 627,000 cubic yards of debris from the two storms, according to a post-storm analysis.

In Treasure Island, Barrs said roughly a year later that there are “many vacant residential and commercial lots” from the storms.

“We are starting to see some rebuilding and some homes being elevated. Many businesses were not able to reopen, and others are still in temporary facilities,” he said.

Other challenges persist.

“Many residents are still not able to rebuild or repair their homes. This is due to a variety of issues: insurance, permitting, old/nonflood compliant structures. Many of our smaller, 1-story hotels will not be able to reopen,” Barrs said.

High insurance costs and sometimes delayed, disputed or denied storm claims have been causes for frustrations in Florida, in particular, as well as other states.

Barrs said some hotel rooms have started to come back online, and a beach renourishment project replacing sand lost to

“We’re shouting it from our beautiful Blue Ridge mountaintops—the Asheville area is open for business and eagerly welcoming visitors after Hurricane Helene impacted our region in fall of 2024,” said Dodie Stephens, vice president of marketing for the Explore Asheville tourism group, earlier this summer.

The group has been advertising in regional drive markets as well as cities with flight connections to Asheville.

“Downtown Asheville was largely unimpacted by the storm last fall and many of the most iconic hikes, overlooks and attractions along the Blue Ridge Parkway are open,” she said.

The Biltmore gardens reopened in November 2024 and is hosting an exhibition featuring Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamum through Jan. 4, 2026.

Some areas of the Appalachian Trail damaged by Hurricane Helene have been repaired or reopened. But there continues to be repair work and debris collections in other trail areas in North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, according to the National Park Service.

There are detour areas along the 2,200-mile trail because of storm damage and remediation.

Some Florida communities saw backlogs and delays with permitting

In Lee County, local officials have been reexamining their communications and social media policies on how to keep the public best informed during major storms and other emergencies.

‘HISTORIC DAMAGE’

Beyond its coastal impacts, Helene brought major flooding, downed trees and damaged homes, buildings and roadways in Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee.

“At one point during the storm, over 1.2 million gallons of water per second flowed over the Nolichucky Dam. In comparison, Niagara Falls’ peak daily flow is 700,000 gallons of water per second,” said Mark Nagi, regional communications officer for the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

The state also removed more than 720,000 cubic yards of debris from Helene.

“This storm has caused historic damage to bridges and roadways, especially in Upper East Tennessee. TDOT anticipates hundreds of millions of dollars in damage,” Nagi said.

Helene’s biblical rains and floods damaged and shut down parts of Interstate 40 near the Tennessee, North Carolina border and 49 sections of state and local roadways in the eastern part of Tennessee last year, according to “Work on full restoration of I-40 in Cocke County continues,” Nagi said.

“We anticipate the roadway being fully back open in Summer 2026. We have had one lane open in each

Tennessee surveyors inspected all 490 stateowned bridges that the storm could have damaged. Nagi said two bridges in Greene and Washington counties were built in a faster “Progressive DesignBuild” mode that allowed design and construction phases to overlap.

“Those bridges were each opened in less than 8 months. Without PDB being utilized, it would have probably taken approximately 2 to 3 years to reconnect those communities,” he said.

On Sept. 15, North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein called for an additional $13.5 billion in federal funding to help with Hurricane Helene reconstruction. That includes $8 billion to help rebuild homes and small businesses, $2 billion for local governments financially strained by the storm and its cleanup, and $2 billion to help with reconstruction and full reopening of sections of I-40 hit by the storm. Stein, a Democrat, also wants Congress to release another $10 billion in previously allocated funds related to hurricane recovery.

“Western North Carolinians are counting on the federal government for help to rebuild homes, support small businesses, and repair roads. I call on Congress to deliver for western North Carolina its fair share and appropriate an additional $13.5 billion in funding for Helene recovery,” Stein said in a statement.