If you have been watching the news and are up-to-date about Hurricane Helene then you know what happened to Western North Carolina which was the reason why I was MIA. It has been more than three weeks now since I posted here on the blog, but everything is now back to normal and I am so glad to be back myself!

Before Helene Hit

We always watch the news and we knew Hurricane Helene was going to hit Western North Carolina with low barometric pressure. We’ve been there before. When a hurricane hits the coast of the Carolinas, we usually get hit by low pressure here in the mountains. But for the first time ever, Helene was different and we sure did not expect the devastation. As you know, Helene came out of the Gulf of Mexico and hit Florida as a category 4 hurricane, then hit Georgia as a category 2, and then hit us as a tropical storm on September 27th, Friday. But even before Helene hit us, it was already raining that Wednesday and some areas were already flooded by Thursday. So by the time Helene finally arrived on Friday, it was catastrophic.

The Day of Helene

We woke up to no power on Friday morning and although it was windy, there was no heavy rain. So I was like, “This ain’t that bad.” Little did I know about the devastation around us. We still had water that morning but it was slowly disappearing. Then the cell signal became spotty and eventually disappeared. There were downed trees in our neighborhood (one blocking the main road) so we were stuck for a day because there was no way out.

The Shocking News

Saturday came and our neighbor who has a chainsaw cut the tree blocking the main road. As what I’ve learned, firefighters approached them while they were clearing the road and informed them about the devastation in the area. There was no power all over WNC, no water and just some cell signal in specific areas (one was at the Police Station near us). We are in Asheville and areas located close to the river were flooded. There were a lot of downed trees, landslides, mudslides and both Interstates connecting WNC to the “outside world” were not passable. All of this information was surely shocking.

Sunday came and we started listening to the local radio. Good thing the hubs had batteries. Heard about heartbreaking stories but the good thing was, help from the government was on the way and by the end of the day, Interstates were already passable. By this day, I was already craving for a hot meal. The hubs and I were living on cereal and bagels.

Our Knight in Shining Armor

By Sunday afternoon, the hubs received a text from his good friend who is currently living in Charlotte, North Carolina, asking how we were doing and if we would want to stay with him and his wife. The hubs asked me if I wanted to and of course I said, yes! He offered to pick us up the following day and together with his Aunt, his nephew and his friend, we stayed at their beautiful home in Charlotte. The hubs has the best kind of friends and he is so lucky to have them. This friend had worked for my husband back when he was a teenager, but had kept in touch with my husband all these years and had just retired from the Army after thirty years of service. I feel so blessed, to have met his friends. They were equally nice and sweet to me as they are to my husband.

The turkey lasagna that the wife of my husband’s friend prepared for us one night in Charlotte. It was delicious!

Connecting with My Family

And this was the only time that I got to charge my phone after four days. I received messages from my sister and calls from my son who are both abroad. My sister was worried because she said I usually reply immediately. She even asked my brothers and son if they heard from me. My son on the other hand called and messaged me multiple times. He was aware of what happened in Asheville and was so worried. He immediately called me as soon as I sent him a message and asked if I wanted him to come home. I assured him that we are doing fine and there’s no need for him to travel thousands of miles.

We stayed at my husband’s friend’s home for eight nights and went home on Tuesday, October 8th. We already had water (although still on boil advisory) and cell service, but no power yet. But I wanted to go home because we had a trip coming on October 10th to Washington, D.C. and I wanted the house cleaned and all before leaving for the trip. I knew two nights with no power would be no big deal although those nights were a bit chilly. And by the time we returned from our Washington trip, the power was back on after being out for two weeks.

Helping Hands

And kudos to those organizations, communities and all individuals who made and are making this tragedy a little better for those who were affected. They have created designated areas to give away water, hot meals and other essentials. The hubs grabbed us some hot meals for those two nights at a nearby church.

Thankful & Grateful

I know the devastation in Asheville is heartbreaking and I am aware of the loss some people had experienced, and I am not taking them lightly. But I must say that I am grateful and thankful that we were blessed to have not experienced such. And I couldn’t be more grateful to hubby’s friend who was such a blessing.

Western North Carolina Strong

Lastly, despite this tragedy, I believe Asheville or Western North Carolina as a whole will come back strong. Please pray for Western North Carolina and to all of those who were affected by Hurricane Helene!