Asheville residents took in neighbors as they watched Helene floods lift cars, buildings

ASHEVILLE – Cars, trucks, billboards and whole houses. That was a short list of the things that Syd Yatteau saw, along with her family members Erik and Lana Maystruk, as the Swannanoa River hit approximately 26 feet at Biltmore Village, not far from Governors Road where they sheltered as Tropical Storm Helene battered Western North Carolina.

Walking through the mud and debris on South Tunnel Road on Sept. 28 — near upturned asphalt and a massive sinkhole that formed along the washed-out road — Yattaeu recalled the rapidly rising river as it became a “giant moat” in front of their home, wiping away several houses in their subdivision. Even as the flood waters rose, creeping up the side of a hill and onto their driveway, she said they did not receive an evacuation order. The breadth of damage was totally unexpected.

“It was really surreal,” she said of the rapid rise of the Swannanoa River. “Like, at the beginning it was all fun and games. Just watching the water be where it was.”

“And then it just kept going up,” she said.

Around 4 p.m. on Sept. 27, the Swannanoa River, which feeds into the French Broad River, hit its peak at 26.1 feet, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. That’s five feet above the record set during the 1916 floods, which killed numerous people and demolished most of Asheville — including Biltmore Village, located just down Swannanoa River Road.

Western North Carolina floods: 10 confirmed deaths in Buncombe County from Helene; still no water distribution sites

The waters didn’t flood Yatteau’s home, but they reached a neighbor’s home just down the hill. Their neighbors came up and stayed with their family, Erik Maystruk said, then helped them sort through the ruins of their house the day after.

“We tried to go over to their house earlier in the morning today. Tried to salvage as much as we can,” Yatteau said.

River brings cars, groceries, whole houses past Governors Road

Living just down the road from the Aldi, the trio watched as the water swept away food from the grocery store. Nearly a half-mile down the road, bags of chips, Snickers and produce could be found pressed up against the side of the Wood Avenue Bridge. Just near that bridge, the emptied businesses were being picked over by families and, seemingly, looters as they sought to find anything among the wreckage.

Drone footage taken by Erik Maystruk shows more images of the destructive flooding. He recorded semi-trucks just down the road piling up as the river played with them like toys, dragging them closer to Biltmore Village.

The day after the catastrophe on Governors View Road, the trio made their way up Swannanoa River Road, past the destroyed Walgreens, Lowes Home Improvement, Goodwill and U-Haul. Trekking through the mud, it took them “20-30 minutes” to make it the half mile to South Tunnel Road. While they were supplied with food, water supplies seemed uncertain.

“I don’t know about water, but we have a few freezers, so we might be okay,” Lana Maystruk said, noting that they did have a backup generator running at their house.

“We don’t expect to get power anytime soon,” Yatteau said.

More: Western North Carolina residents wait in line for essentials after devastation from Helene

Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Got a tip? Email him at WHofmann@citizentimes.com. Consider supporting this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Time

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville, NC aftermath: Neighbors saw whole homes, cars float away