Six weeks after Hurricane Helene hit the Southeast, life is still far from normal for many people.
One community struggling to recover is Swannanoa, North Carolina, just east of Asheville. Raging floods have swept away homes and businesses.
Channel 2’s Bryan Mims went to Swannanoa on Thursday to see the progress being made in the community and found it’s slow, but it’s happening.
The ground Mike Stewart walks on is fresh gravel. It covers the dirty dust of dried mud. The water had turned so much in this city to dust.
“You just felt the sense of loss. Loss of property, loss of homes, loss of life. You felt it,” Steward said.
So he poured gravel in the parking lot of the business he owns, Pine View Buildings. He sells storage sheds.
When the Swannanoa River burst its banks in revenge, it lost dozens of buildings.
He lost his office. He almost lost the will to stay in business.
“You were about to walk away from it all,” Mims asked Stewart.
Yes, I was about to walk away. It was just so disheartening,” Stewart said.
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But he couldn’t give up.
“It wasn’t about me, it wasn’t about my loss. It was about how can we bring a little bright spot into a dark area,” Stewart said.
It has reopened. He has a temporary office. He replaced many of his storage buildings.
And he’s opened up some of his property to people who live in RVs: people who have lost their homes.
Across Highway 70, Brian Berpeau has yet to open his truck repair shop called Diamondback 4-by-4.
“Every day we keep coming down and doing what we can to move the iceberg away,” Berpeau said.
Five feet of water drowned his garage. About $250,000 worth of tools and equipment are missing.
He knows he is a happy person. Other businesses in the city may never rise from the dust, but he expects to reopen within a few weeks.
“I don’t know, I still have doubts sometimes. Just stay optimistic and stay positive,” Berpeau said.
Several businesses along the Swannanoa River were destroyed or severely damaged.
Volunteers from across the country have swarmed into Swannanoa to help clean up and rebuild.
They have been a godsend to people who lost their homes and everything they had.
