This story was originally published on UNC Media Hub.
When driving into Burke County, North Carolina, there aren’t many visible, physical reminders of what occurred in this town — and across the western part of the state — a little over one year ago. But as you go deeper into any of the towns branching off of Interstate 40, there are signs everywhere.
On Creekside Drive, a street in the town of Morganton — located about 50 miles east of Asheville and 50 miles south of Boone — about a quarter of the homes on the road are still vacant, either with boards covering the windows or the insides stripped to beams.
Also on this street is the home of the Radford family, who lost almost everything, and they are still continuing to recover, just like hundreds of other individuals in Western N.C.
“You don't have a frame of reference unless you've actually seen it or been through it,” Vivian Radford said. “We have worked almost every day for the last 365 days in this house, and we're still not done, and that has been with tremendous help. There are still people in tents in the mountains, which blows my mind and breaks my heart that we're over a year after [the storm] and some people still don't have a roof over their head. I just think until you've been here and seen it, you can't comprehend it.”
Last year, when Hurricane Helene devastated Western N.C., the Radford family’s home was destroyed in just a few hours. With floodwaters reaching almost 10 feet above ground level in some places and wind gusts of over 100 mph ripping through the town, the Radfords’ roof collapsed and beams were destroyed, completely transforming the house from its original state. And now, almost 13 months later, the repairs still aren’t completely finalized.
Radford said that she and her husband, Dean Radford, were just able to fully move back into their home at the beginning of August after living in a camper in their driveway for the past 10 or so months.
The trailer, donated by an extended family friend, was just one example of community support amid a crushing event.
“I mean, we would never have been able to do this with just what we have,” she said.
The Radfords said they received less than $40,000 from FEMA for the repairs of their whole home. It was the community that helped them during the reconstruction process.
They said they received an additional $20,000 in donations from people who wanted to assist their family, as well as donated items, time and general support from others.
Through Radford’s work in the Burke County school system, she was able to reach out to a friend, Scott Brackett, who recently went into teaching after working as a general contractor, to get help from his construction class at the local Freedom High School.
“Most of our students enjoy doing these types of projects,” Brackett said. “Especially having the opportunity to get off campus. I think the neighborhood was surprised to see a bus full of students come pulling in a few times a week to work.”
Brackett’s class primarily helped with the reframing of the Radfords’ home, restructuring the underlying foundation that was damaged.
Though the class had some real-world hands-on experience prior to this project, Brackett said it was especially beneficial for the students to have practical experience for the class that is certification/credential-based.
But it wasn’t only neighbors and friends who came to support the Radfords and the surrounding Western N.C. communities.
Radford said there was even a couple who came all the way from Wisconsin to help out residents on their street — from picking up debris to renting and donating construction equipment.
“There is not a month of the year that we've not met somebody that we didn't know, that has helped us in some way,” Radford said. “Those are the gifts that make it worth it.”
Leah Haithcock, Radford’s daughter, was at school at UNC-Chapel Hill when the storm initially hit last September. She did not return to her hometown until December because her mom did not want her to see the extent of the damage.
However, even from almost 200 miles away, Haithcock felt the community's support.
“It was crazy to hear the stories of all these people from all over that were coming and helping,” she said. “Just doing whatever they can.”
Now, even over a year later, the Radfords and their neighbors on the same street are still continuing the recovery process.
Last year, Jeff Heacock and his family were picked up by boat from a rescue team the night of the storm because the rainwater completely flooded the bottom level of their home, making it impossible to leave.
Heacock, who owns a home just down the street from the Radfords, said that since the storm hit, there has consistently been something new to do to continue with clean-up or reconstruction.
“Every day since the flood, I drove here and I did something,” he said. “It kept me busy.”
This damage seen by the Radfords and Heacock wasn’t just sustained in their small town, but across the entirety of the western part of the state.
Jonathan Perry, managing attorney of Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Morganton office and western regional manager, traveled to McDowell and Mitchell counties last year to provide legal support for people who experienced extreme damage from the storm.
He said that through his work, his biggest takeaway was the resilience of the people in the area. While some individuals, like the Radfords, lost almost all of their belongings, they continued to maintain high spirits amid the devastation.
“That is the thing that jumps out to me,” Perry said. “It's not about anything anybody did. The testament is to the fortitude of the people of the mountains, because they represent the landscape that they live on. It's a tough landscape, and they exemplify that.”
While the Radfords have almost finished the repairs on their home — apart from outdoor landscaping and indoor furnishing and shelving — there are still people across other parts of the state who have extensive damage and are nowhere near the point where her family is.
Radford recognizes this and said she hopes that people don’t forget Western N.C., even amid everything else going on in the world. And despite the long road to recovery that Radford and her family have faced, she has experienced various positives and, like Perry, has witnessed the resilience of the mountain community .
“I would not choose to walk this journey, but I wouldn’t choose to go back either and negate all that I’ve learned over the past year,” she said.
