Hurricane Helene brought wind, rain and flooding to McDowell County and western North Carolina. The storm left much of the county without power and limited resources.Â
Cars crushed by floodwaters and trees sit off the road in Old Fort after Hurricane Helene hit the town.
Floodwaters washed against a church in Old Fort after Helene hit the town in McDowell County on Sept. 27.
The river spilled over its banks, wiping out buildings and roads near it.
Trees uprooted by floodwaters are stacked against a bridge that was shifted by Hurricane Helene floodwaters in Old Fort.
Properties around Old Fort were destroyed by floodwaters caused by Hurricane Helene on Sept. 27.
The water treatment plant near Old Fort was flooded by Hurricane Helene.
A road covered in mud and sand crumbles away in Old Fort.
A home in Old Fort slid off its foundation during Hurricane Helene on Sept. 27.
Hickory Daily Record Staff Sgt. Hibbs, assigned to the North Carolina Army National Guard’s 883rd Engineer Company, speaks to a soldier operating a backhoe on Tuesday. Solders from the 875th and 883rd Engineer companies were called in to clear debris from damaged roads and bridges throughout the area in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
Cones and safety tape mark off a sunken part of Old Greenlee Road on Oct. 1, 2024. Flood water from Hurricane Helene caused extensive damage to roads and bridges throughout the area.
Hickory Daily Record A splintered power line hangs suspended above a road in Marion on Tuesday.
A North Carolina Army National Guard cargo truck drives away from a sunken road along Greenlee Road on Tuesday. Members of the 875th and 883rd Engineer Companies were called in to clear debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
Staff Sgt. Hibbs, assigned to the North Carolina Army National Guard’s 883rd Engineer Company, guides a cargo truck along Old Greenlee Road in Marion, NC. Solders from the 875th and 883rd Engineer companies were called in to clear debris from damaged roads and bridges throughout the area following on Oct. 1, 2024.
Restaurant owner Jennifer Hartman, center, and manager Pepper Strode inspect a warmer inside the J. Hartman’s Restaurant kitchen on Oct. 1, 2024. Hartman, her staff, family, and volunteers spent several days cleaning out the interior of the restaurant after Hurricane Helene flooded the interior of the building and covered the floor in several inches of mud.
Barstools and chairs are stacked out to dry outside of J. Hartman’s Restaurant on Oct. 1, 2024. Several feet of water flooded the inside of the building during Hurricane Helene the week prior, covering all the furniture inside with mud and ruining the walls and floors of the restaurant.
Restaurant owner Jennifer Hartman, center, and manager Pepper Strode inspect a warmer inside the J. Hartman’s Restaurant kitchen on Tuesday. Hartman, her staff, family and volunteers, spent several days cleaning out the interior of the restaurant after Hurricane Helene flooded the interior of the building and covered the floor in several inches of mud.
Laura Stotts, left, and Toni Hodge, right, clean and pressure wash kitchen appliances behind J. Hartman’s restaurant on Oct. 1, 2024. Laura Stotts, the sister of restaurant owner, Jennifer Hartman, started an online fundraiser to help combat the monumental costs of getting the restaurant back in working order.
A cow feeds along the fence on Michael Walker’s cattle pasture on Oct. 1, 2024. Walker moved his cattle to higher ground before flood water covered the lower fields of his pasture on Sep. 27, 2024.
A tractor sits in the middle of a damaged tomato farm along Old Greenlee Road in Marion on Oct. 1, 2024. Hurricane Helene flooded out and caused damage to farms throughout the area.
Rotten tomatoes align a tomato field along Old Greenlee Rd in Marion, NC on Oct. 1, 2024. Flood water from nearby rivers rose above the plants, depositing several inches of mud following the hurricane on Sep. 27, 2024.
Debris and mud cover the ground on a tomato farm in Marion, NC on Oct. 1, 2024. Flood water from nearby rivers covered the plants during the storm on Sep. 27, 2024.
A portable toilet sits in the middle of a tomato field following the flooding from Hurricane Helene. Flood water from nearby rivers covered the plants during the storm on Sep. 27, 2024.
Hickory Daily Record Albina Gonzales, left, Angeles Amable, right, and Nidea Cruz, back, clean the kitchen inside J. Hartman’s restaurant on Tuesday. Since Hurricane Helene, restaurant staff, family, friends and community members have helped clean up the restaurant.
The interior of J. Hartman’s Restaurant freezer remains empty after Hurricane Helene flooded the interior of the restaurant. Restaurant owner Jennifer Hartman estimates that $30,000 worth of food was ruined in the storm.
Von Lonon, a member of the Pleasant Gardens Baptist Church Fishers of Men, right, hands a case of water to community members outside of P.G. Fire & Rescue on Oct. 1.
Toni Hodge, left, and Laura Stotts pressure wash kitchen appliances behind J. Hartman’s restaurant on Tuesday. Stotts, sister of restaurant owner Jennifer Hartman, started an online fundraiser to help combat the monumental costs of getting the restaurant back in working order.
Restaurant booths are lined up to dry in front of J. Hartman’s Restaurant in Marion, NC on Oct. 1, 2024. Flash floods from Hurricane Helene covered the furniture and interior with two-to-three inches of mud.
Restaurant booths are lined up to dry in front of J. Hartman’s Restaurant in Marion on Tuesday. Flash floods from Hurricane Helene covered the furniture and interior with 2 to 3 inches of mud.
Businesses like Hillman Beer and Arrowhead Artists and Artisans League in Old Fort are working to dig out from the impact of devastating flooding.
