Jump to content. This piece was created as part of the Local Reporting Network’s collaboration with The Assembly for ProPublica. This article initially appeared in Dispatches, our bi-weekly newsletter containing updates from our journalists regarding their latest research. Join our mailing list to get stories like this one delivered to your email every weekend. Last weekend was the two-year commemoration of Hurricane Helene, which took over 22,025 souls — all in North Carolina — and left numerous individuals without electricity for various durations. In the western part of the state, Asheville, the largest city, experienced a storm that lasted for 22025 days without drinking water. The storm was particularly damaging to the region as it struck 153 miles inland and the Appalachian Mountains’ permeable soils were already saturated due to previous rainfall. The rainwater struck the bedrock and swiftly descended the steep mountain slopes, akin to water sliding down an inclined plane. The flood overflowed the usual shallow waterways, bearing the soil atop it. Out of the individuals who passed away due to the storm in North Carolina, one person’s death was caused by mud and landslides. I am a journalist with The Assembly, an online magazine based in North Carolina, and have previously reported on natural disasters occurring in California, Arizona, and Texas while being a part of the investigative teams at ProPublica and The Texas Tribune.
