The Appalachian Trail runs along Main Street in Hot Springs, North Carolina. During Helene, the French Broad River flowed along the same route, carving a path of destruction. Volunteers and friends have come together to help the small resort get on the path to recovery.
News & Observer photojournalist Robert Willett captured these images a week after the flood.
Business owners with an army of volunteers work to clear mud from flooded businesses on Bridge Street on Friday, October 4, 2024, after flooding from Hurricane Helene destroyed many of them.
Seven-year-old Zander Reed of Hot Springs, NC sorts through a huge amount of donations for Hurricane Helene victims in the gym at Hot Springs Elementary on Friday, October 4, 2024 in Hot Springs, NC Donation coordinators said they have enough diapers, but have PPE equipment and mud boots needed.
Volunteers Kristin Giles and Raymond Dauteuil clean the inventory of the historic Gentry Hardware on Friday, October 4, 2024 in Hot Springs, NC Floodwaters from Hurricane Helene flooded the adjacent Spring Creek in the center of town, wiping out most businesses.
A volunteer working to clean the interior of the flooded historic Gentry Hardware washes dirt from their boots and shovels on Friday, October 4, 2024 in Hot Springs, NC
A marker for the Appalachian Trail that runs through downtown Hot Springs, NC is covered in sand by floodwaters from Hurricane Helen on Friday, October 4, 2024.
Jenifer Miller of Hot Springs, NC uses water, gravity and ingenuity to solve a growing dust problem as mud from historic flooding turns to dust Friday, October 4, 2024 in downtown Hot Springs, NC
Seven-year-old Zander Reed of Hot Springs, NC sorts through a huge amount of donations for Hurricane Helene victims in the gym at Hot Springs Elementary on Friday, October 4, 2024 in Hot Springs, NC Donation coordinators said they have enough diapers, but have PPE equipment and mud boots needed.
One of the hot tubs at Hot Springs Resort And Spa filled with mud on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, after Spring Creek and the French Board River flooded the resort in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. Several hot tubs were washed away by the flood.
Guest checks into Hot Springs Resort And Spa on Friday, October 4, 2024 after Spring Creek and the French Board River flooded the resort in the wake of Hurricane Helene.
A quilt and an American flag are hung to dry on the porch of Hot Springs Rafting Company on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, after the historic structure was flooded by Spring Creek during Hurricane Helene.
Utility contractors work to restore power to the city of Hot Springs, N.C., on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, a week after Hurricane Helene passed through western North Carolina.
North Carolina SBI and federal ATF agents search through storm debris in Spring Creek, where it meets the French Broad River, looking for victims of Hurricane Helene on Friday, October 4, 2024 in Hot Springs, NC
In the resort town of Hot Springs, service members are taking on leadership roles after Helene
