Residents were stranded by washed out roads and lack of power across multiple states as the Hurricane Helene death toll reached over 130.
The devastation left by Hurricane Helene in North Carolina is making waves across the internet.
The death toll continues to climb, with at least 133 killed by Hurricane Helene and 600 people still missing in North Carolina’s Buncombe County.
A heartbreaking final photo of grandparents waiting to be saved from their roof while being surrounded by dirty floodwaters, debris, and trees has left a harrowing feeling online.
Jessica Drye Turner / Facebook
Jessica Drye Turner — who was safe in Texas — gave updates on her stranded family members on Facebook, hoping someone would save them from being taken away by the catastrophe. Unfortunately, the floodwaters were too strong and caused the house to collapse.
“My family was trapped on the roof as you saw,” Jessica shared on Facebook, adding that she received information about her parents, sister Megan and 7-year-old nephew Micah from third parties.
“The roof did not collapse, the house did. Mama was clinging onto Micah and Daddy was struggling to hold onto Megan. He kept panicking and pushing her under. She had hold of a tree and was trying to hold on to him. The water took him.”
Megan was rescued once she let go of the tree — her parents and nephew were not.
Jessica Drye Turner / Facebook
“She [Megan] was taken by the current until she was lodged between 2 trailers for 3 hours until someone finally saw her. Those 3 hours were a story in their own with a voice talking to her the entire time. She fought, and fought and fought until rescued. Once that happened, that’s when she completely crumbled. We believe Micah, mama and daddy waited until Megan was rescued before being received into the hands of Christ,” Jessica wrote.
She added, “The waters have receded and there is nothing left standing except my dad’s law firm sign. And we’ve chuckled at that bc [sic] he was so proud of that sign.”
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Rescue services found Jessica’s nephew “1/4 of a mile past where they found Megan”.
In her post, she shared that she and her other sister drove from Texas to Asheville to pick their sister Megan up.
Emergency services struggled to reach isolated areas impacted by collapsed roads and flooding, while supplies arrived by plane and by mule in North Carolina. President Joe Biden said he will travel to North Carolina on Wednesday to meet with officials and take an aerial tour of the hard-hit tourism town of Asheville.
During a briefing Monday, White House homeland security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall suggested as many as 600 people hadn’t been accounted for as of Monday afternoon, saying some might be dead.
