It’s been a grueling, emotional week for North Carolina, as we learn the incredible toll Hurricane Helene has taken on our state and its beloved mountains. Even now, a week after the storm’s arrival, the magnitude of the lives lost, the properties destroyed and the landscape forever changed is difficult to comprehend.
There are so many stories and images that will be etched in our minds forever.
On Tuesday afternoon I received a text message from a reporter Josh Schaffer and photojournalist Kaitlin McKeownwho had followed a convoy of emergency vehicles heading into hard-hit Avery County in the North Carolina High Country: “We’re the first reporters in Banner Elk.”
And they immediately got to work, documenting in words and pictures a scene where “the police lieutenant saw his house floating away” and “food, water and diapers arriving by helicopter for days.”
Kaitlin and Josh were just two of the many journalists from The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer who worked all week to cover this immense story:
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Photojournalist Travis Long of The N&O, who has family in Cherokee, was there before Helene’s arrival. The photos sent from around the region by Travis, Kaitlin and Robert Willett from De N&O and Khadejeh Nikouyeh from The Observer have been devastating.
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Khadejeh and N&O reporter Martha Quillin captured stories of a family bracing for flooding who suddenly encountered a landslide; a beloved Asheville area for artists washed away, and a wedding that went ahead in the wake of the storm, with the National Guard arriving to wish the couple well.
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The Charlotte Observer Ryan Oehrli joined Travis for a report from the small town of Marshall, where resilient residents think about the future as they dig out of mud piles.
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The N&Os Brian Gordon and Robert, in the small area of Pensacola, spoke to a resident who remembered a 1977 flood. But this time it was different, she said, because “she felt the whole mountain moving.”
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The N&O’s Virginia Bridges told the heartbreaking story of families and friends searching for missing loved ones.
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N&O transport reporter Richard Stradling has continually updated a list of the many road closures in the area, and explains why rebuilding Interstate 40 through the mountains will be such a challenge.
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The Charlotte Observer Evan Moore and The N&Os Drew Jackson have updated a list of claims per province.
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When the situation turned political, with candidates and current officeholders sparring over the federal and state response, Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan And Danielle Battaglia did a Reality Check to find out the truth.
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And correspondents Emily Vespa And Caitlyn Yaede also checked some facts about the many fake images shared on social media and how to spot them. (Please, people, don’t share that photo of the crying big-eyed girl holding the crying big-eyed dog. It’s AI-generated and there are many real photos showing what real people are dealing with. There is no fake decoration needed.)
These are just a few of the many stories The N&O and The Charlotte Observer have done. Our editors have worked closely together, coordinating our responses and trying to cover as many angles as possible from as many places as possible.
All of our coverage of Helene’s aftermath is outside our existing paywall and we share it freely with other newsrooms in North Carolina. You can find all our stories at newsobserver.com/topics/helene-nc. There you will also find links to ways you can help.
During their trip to Banner Elk, Josh and Kaitlin spoke with Fire Chief Tyler Burr. He offered a memorable quote. “Let’s face it: we are the stepchild of the nation. If Taylor Swift gets engaged tomorrow, we will be an afterthought.”
We do everything we can to ensure that this does not happen.
It will take a lot of rebuilding to document. There are many questions that need to be answered. And there are many stories to tell.
Thad Ogburn is interim editor of The News & Observer.
