- Holden Beach woman describes experience caught in Hurricane Helene
- Helene flooding destroys McDowell County couple's home just months before their wedding
- Burnsville couple, dog rescued after Hurricane Helene flooding trapped them for days
- Western NC floods: Body of man's fiancée found days after she was swept away by Helene
- Blowing Rock food pantry floods, neighbors show up to help out
Hot Springs residents struggling to clear storm damage with one of the few roads remaining open
Madison County is one of the many counties in western North Carolina ravaged by Hurricane Helene over the weekend.
As residents in Marshall combat potentially dangerous dust lingering in the air and feet of mud covering everything on the ground, those in Hot Springs face the challenge of getting people in to move supplies.
Several supplies moved in Thursday night, but now many in the town are racing against the clock to get manpower into the town.
“Getting it to people; that’s the issue,” said relief organizer Kevo Reese. We have maybe 100 to 150 able-bodied people here. We’ve been working sun up to sun down every day.”
Helene severely damaged the town, from flooding that blew out the storefronts of multiple businesses to one business being completely knocked off its foundation.
“It’s devastating in a lot of ways. This is a tourist town,” said Matt Kern, who lost his home due to flooding. “There’s nothing here for tourists to do now.”
While those who can work are doing so, the town faces another issue: traffic.
Many roads people would take to get into town are either gone due to flooding and storm damage or blocked off to help emergency responders get in.
Officials with the North Carolina Department of Transportation Thursday said I-40 near the North Carolina-Tennessee border will be closed for several months and maybe longer, making Hot Springs one of the few areas where people can travel through to get to areas in need in the mountains.
While they are grateful supplies are coming and going to areas that need them, Reese said it’s slowed progress in the town.
“We’re trying to take care of our main street, which is the main part of our entire town,” Reese said. “We have all this traffic coming through and hindering our progress.”
While the town is struggling, it will be able to communicate with other as a authorities have set up a mobile cell tower in the center of town. With cell service knocked out in several surrounding areas, it could stay in the town for the foreseeable future.