Recovery is far from over in parts of North Carolina, a year after the devastation from Hurricane Helene.
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00:00It's been six long months since Helene brought catastrophic flooding to the mountain town of Marshall, North Carolina
00:06more than 12 feet of water swept through the heart of the town destroying homes ripping apart businesses and sweeping away cars and
00:14even 20 and even trains
00:16Accuweather's Bill Waddell covered the devastation in Marshall after experiencing hurricane Helene
00:22Making landfall in the Big Bend of Florida bill. You're back in Western, North Carolina this morning and the road to recovery. It's far from over
00:31Yeah, that's right Ariella Bernie good morning to you
00:33We are in Swannanoa at this hour
00:35And some people have told us that they have been frustrated by the speed that has been taking for this recovery process
00:41But many others that we've spoken with here
00:43Tell us they're proud of all the work that's been accomplished in the past six months to try and help a lot of families and small
00:49Businesses start to get back on their feet, but looking around Swannanoa
00:53There's still a lot of scars and painful memories left behind. This is just one of the businesses along the main road
00:58You can see holes in the wall and there's still a car buried in feet of mud and rocks
01:04This shows you the power and the force of the water from the Swannanoa River coming down
01:09You can see there's not much water in the river at all right now
01:13Homes that were on this riverbank
01:14They're gone right now
01:16Some of these families are still living in campers by the side of the river now the 2024 Atlantic hurricane
01:23Season took a tremendous financial toll across the United States
01:28Accuweather experts estimate that the total damage and economic loss from Hurricane Helene along its entire path
01:34from Florida through the Carolinas and beyond
01:38Accuweather estimates that the total damage and economic loss was
01:41225 to 250 billion dollars. We're talking about tremendous impacts in a very tough recovery now the five named
01:50Tropical storms hurricanes and the unnamed subtropical storm in the Carolinas last year combined when you add all the numbers together
01:57Accuweather estimates the total damage and economic loss was
02:01500 billion dollars some locals tell us they are working hard to reopen businesses
02:06But they need tourists to come back to Western, North Carolina this year to support them
02:13There's probably not as much business as you're used to but there are businesses
02:17And we do need support from people there. We are very sensitive to disaster tourism
02:22Don't come just to look around come here and buy lunch come here and do something to support folks almost any business have lost
02:30The most profitable quarter of the year that they would have had leave season is when people get into the black and make money
02:40Brandon Johnson is the executive director of the Madison County Arts Council
02:44He brought us inside their original home you could see the waterline and the mud line
02:50Left behind it's above our heads now
02:52They have new art going up on the walls
02:54But they're still facing a very long cleanup and recovery inside that building their temporary home is just a few doors down the block
03:01Filled with art that takes a look back at the historic flood and the horrific impacts and loss here
03:08Locals say they are grateful for volunteers and donations that have been pouring in from across the country to help Western, North Carolina
03:17Best thing I ever seen come out of this the people coming together. They've come from everywhere
03:23What can I do won't the hail?
03:26That is wonder when we go get a little we can do a little and it takes a little time
03:32It's almost like a different place
03:37This is what Marshall looked like when we first got there after covering Helene's landfall in the Big Bend of Florida
03:43of course
03:44this was after the floodwaters from the French Broad River had
03:48receded from Marshall a few of the businesses in the heart of town have
03:51Reopened or they have a temporary set up nearby but other buildings and homes and apartments there look like they have barely been touched
03:59Again, the recovery process is going to be a long and difficult one
04:02Some of the reasons why you're seeing some damage left behind in spots like this
04:06We're being told there are insurance battles that are dragging out and of course, it's gonna be a very long tough recovery
04:12This is very difficult and heavy mud and rocks to get out of here
04:16And of course, they're trying to be mindful of recovery carefully getting that out of the riverbed as well
04:21Bernie and Ariella officials tell us of course, Western, North Carolina is a friendly place with the families here
04:27They are known for their breweries in this region the outdoor activities
04:30Of course a lot of artists and makers and they really need people support
04:35so they say do your homework when you're planning your spring or summer vacations with your family a lot of these communities and businesses they
04:41Are trying to reopen get back in business because they need support this summer
04:46Especially since they're not quite sure how the fall foliage season is going to turn out with all of the stress and damage to the trees
04:53and bill a
04:54couple of other things here certainly the
04:56Wintertime a little rough for the area with many people still not back in their homes
05:00And then of course the fire danger that we've seen
05:05So far this year because it's been a little warmer during the spring
05:08The wind has kicked up and all of that brush on the ground or fuels for fires
05:14As there been any conversation of what has been going on with those two phenomenons?
05:21Yeah, absolutely Bernie we'll start with the fires of course a lot of dry brush here this part of Western to North Carolina's an abnormal
05:29Drought of normal dryness or drought conditions. We had some video playing on AccuWeather earlier
05:34We saw a contractor accidentally
05:36Towing a tie down from his trailer the metal buckle was bouncing on the road and we flagged him down
05:40Somebody else did as well trying to prevent any sparks. Thankfully no issues
05:43But that's the thing when you have so many contractors working doing that construction in these areas potential sparks
05:49It's something to be mindful and we know not too far from here. I believe within the two hours drive
05:53There are some fires where people are being told to evacuate and quickly Bernie and Ariella
05:57I just want to show you over here when you talk about the winter
06:00This is the setup that some of the people lived with here on the riverbank
06:04Some people stayed out here in campers throughout the winter. We've been told
06:09That at some places some of the families stayed in tents at some point
06:14So we know there's been a lot of support a lot of different organizations trying to help these families
06:19But we know the the early part of the winter
06:21It was tough for some of those organizations to reach everyone and of course very difficult to stay warm
06:27Stay safe with temporary heating and water lines freezing, but leaders tell us they're gonna be doing as much work as possible this summer
06:33They don't want to repeat a fat again this one
06:35So we appreciate your updates. They're live from Swannanoa, North Carolina and our coverage marking six months
06:40It's hurricane Helene continues here on AccuWeather and even over on AccuWeather.com