‘We were not prepared’: three weeks in a small town devastated by Hurricane Helene

The small mountain community of Gerton, about 16 miles south-east of Asheville, North Carolina, was one of the areas badly hit by Hurricane Helene.

Three weeks on from the storm, the Gerton resident Emma Churchman describes its devastating impact and how locals and volunteers have come together to help the community on its way to recovery.

Gerton, with a population of about 250 people, has a fire station, a post office, a general store, community center and a church.

‘All we heard was the sound of trees cracking’

Friday 27 September

Running water on what used to be a road in Gerton. Photograph: Emma Churchman/Guardian Community

Hurricane Helene hit us in the morning when my husband, Jeff, and I were in bed with our two dogs and for about four hours we couldn’t see far beyond our windows. All we heard was the sound of trees cracking and falling over.

Living near the top of the mountain we have about three miles of road between our house and the highway. The mountains normally block any kind of storm activity so we thought we would just have strong winds and rain – we were not prepared.

When we stepped out there were downed trees, fallen power lines and about half a mile down we saw multiple mudslides – the road covered in 15ft of mud. Further down, there was heavy flooding and a 30ft chasm with waterfalls running through what was the road.

‘Houses and businesses were washed away by the flooding’

Sunday 29 September

People working to remove fallen trees in Gerton. Photograph: Kate/Guardian Community

People in the community started congregating at the fire station, which is becoming the main hub for everyone in Gerton.

Every day since the storm our next door neighbor Erik, who is a firefighter, and his wife, Kate, have been going out to rescue people who are trapped on our mountain. Hickory Nut Gorge (comprising of Gerton, Bat Cave, Chimney Rock and Lake Lure) was hit incredibly hard. So many houses and businesses were washed away by the flooding, people were still trying to locate their cars, and many people were trapped in their homes.

My husband, Jeff, has been helping with supply coordination, trying to source things like generators from the outside world on Facebook using what little signal he has, and I’ve been volunteering as a trauma chaplain.

‘The inside of his house was destroyed by water’

Thursday 3 October

I spoke with Will, a guy in his mid-50s with a leg brace and cane to help him walk. He lives next door to our community center which is alongside a creek. Will lost his workshop as well as two of his cars when the creek flooded – they were upside down a half-mile from his home.

Will’s home, a stone house, was still standing but the inside was destroyed by water. He and his girlfriend, Tammy, were able to get out before the water got too high. They scrambled up to higher ground and watched as the water rose as high as the roof.

Will was matter of fact about what happened. He said he was going to survive this because that’s just what you do when these things happen.

Friday 4 October

A closed road in Gerton. Photograph: Emma Churchman/Guardian Community

Our fire station was full to the brim with supplies and volunteers – so different than just a week ago. We were using all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) to get around as the road between our house and the highway was still blocked.

So many people were trying to come into Gerton that North Carolina state patrol blocked the road for us to keep out non-essential people. We’ve had social media influencers try to make videos of the devastation in the name of raising money for us – they were asked to leave. What we’re going through wasn’t something to gawk at.

‘He cleared trees on our road on his own’

Saturday 5 October

A piece of a tree signed by ‘Animal’. Photograph: Emma Churchman/Guardian Community

A man called “Animal” showed up in a bright yellow giant ATV. Animal was a combat vet and stucco mason from Chattanooga, Tennessee, with a foot-long white braided goatee and a gigantic smile. He used his massive chainsaw to start clearing the trees on his own on our road and around our neighbor’s house.

Animal volunteers regularly in disaster zones, sleeping in a camper that he hand-built for his truck. He said he loved being able to get to know new people and support others in this way.

‘The propane gas delivery driver found a way to get to our house!’

Tuesday 8 October

We were now in the recovery phase. Somehow by the grace of God our propane delivery service found a way to get to our house. We were down to 15% in our tank by the time the driver arrived.

He said he had 14 more deliveries after ours, spanning more than 200 miles, since so many roads were blocked. He was working seven-, 12-hour days in a row to keep on top of post-hurricane demand. He said he was getting lots of hugs from people like me and he knew the work he was doing was invaluable. He also said it was hard for him to not get home in time to tuck his three-year-old daughter into bed.

Jeff and I also hiked down the mountain and discovered that our road, which connects to the highway and was a chasm a week ago, will be drivable later.

‘Portable toilets and showers arrived two days ago’

Thursday 10 October

The fire station discovered their septic system was backed up (probably because so many people have been relying on their bathrooms).

The good news is that portable toilets and showers arrived two days ago. These were so helpful to our community members without generators who come to the fire station.

‘Insurance refused to pay for repairs’

Friday 11 October

A crew of lineworkers working to restore the power. Photograph: Emma Churchman/Guardian Community

I spoke to a lot of people today. One group included a crew of lineworkers from Kentucky who arrived to restore our power. They apologized for taking so long and I countered with my shock that they had made it to our road already.

Another was Aaron, a firefighter and paramedic, who owns a campground down in Bat Cave along a creek. The flooding destroyed the campground which was his family’s primary source of income. Aaron said his insurance was refusing to pay for repairs because he didn’t have flood insurance. Of course he doesn’t have flood insurance – we live in the mountains.

Aaron said he didn’t know what to do next with the campground. Tourism has gone from our area with the catastrophic damage. He didn’t have the money to fix everything himself, and he had more questions than answers right now.

Then there was a man, who emerged in a haze of cigarette smoke, with a salt and pepper ponytail. He brought a crew from Shelby, North Carolina, along with two giant generators to donate.

‘We got power’

Sunday 13 October

Stan pictured under fallen trees on the road near his and Dave’s house. Photograph: Dave/Guardian Community

Today we got power. Until now we’ve been running our propane generator for two hours in the morning and three in the evening. We timed everything from showers, to cooking, to pooping, to laundry, to five minutes of phone calls with the outside world to fit within those five precious hours.

Our next door neighbor Kate, who is a chainsaw specialist, has been leading recovery teams in our community the last two weeks. A few days ago she led a crew in clearing 200 trees off the road that goes to our friends Stan and Dave’s house. This is one of the roads we were most concerned about as it was taking Stan and Dave two hours to walk to the fire station in what was normally a 20-minute trip.