Before-and-after images show Helene wiped parts of North Carolina off the map
Before-and-after aerial photographs illustrate the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene on western North Carolina. The storm, which was a Category 4 hurricane, left a trail of destruction exceeding 500 miles across the Southeast, resulting in over 200 fatalities—marking it as the second deadliest hurricane to impact the US mainland in half a century.
The National Weather Service reported a rainfall event comparable to a once-in-a-millennium occurrence over a three-day period, inundating the southern Appalachians with an overwhelming amount of water. This deluge triggered mudslides and liquefied the earth, causing homes to be swept off their foundations. The massive volume of water made its way into rivers, dramatically rising water levels and reshaping the landscape by destroying numerous bridges, roads, and homes.
Chimney Rock, North Carolina, situated alongside the Broad River, exemplified this devastation. Mayor Peter O’Leary remarked, “Everything on each side of the river is gone. Every single building has been destroyed or severely damaged”.
Asheville, a city believed to be shielded from severe weather exacerbated by climate change, faced significant impacts. The images reveal structures partially or entirely swept away by rivers that overflowed their banks and forged new channels. The photographs highlight the ongoing difficulties in locating individuals who remain unaccounted for, as entire sections of towns have vanished, underscoring the extensive work required to rebuild these communities in a landscape irrevocably altered by the storm.
In North Carolina, a bridge and its accompanying road have been completely erased by Helene’s wrath, leaving behind a raging river where buildings once stood. The storm’s aftermath underscores that no location is genuinely safe from the impacts of climate change, as Hurricane Helene developed over unusually warm waters and intensified significantly due to a warmer atmosphere retaining more moisture, leading to more intense rainfall.
