South Floridian shares family's harrowing survival story post-Helene

CORAL GABLES - A South Florida native shared her family's story of survival in Asheville, North Carolina while coping with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene , a disaster they had never anticipated.

Emily Cairo said her mother and father ironically moved from Coral Gables to Weaverville, North Carolina, near Asheville, when they retired two years ago, in large part to get away from the threat of hurricanes.

Cairo spoke with CBS News Miami about the storm that caused massive flooding has taken nearly 100 lives in North Carolina and decimated Asheville, a city of 95,000 people. The storm severely damaged three of four main highways in that city and left many without access to running water, food and electricity.

Cairo, who works as a restaurant server in Asheville and lives with her family in Weaverville, said, "I lost contact with my family for three days. I had to turn around because one bridge was wiped out, and I couldn't reach them."

"I thought, 'I'm from Miami, I'm from Florida.' I moved to North Carolina two years ago and joined my parents near Asheville three months ago. I thought I'd be fine. Then the fear settled in because, after trying multiple times, I still couldn't reach my parents. I was terrified. I thought my family was gone. It was such a somber experience. There were so many people living in homes that don't exist anymore."

Cairo used her cellphone to capture images of the storm's devastation.

"It's tough because my mom is comparing it to Hurricane Andrew. She lived in Miami during Andrew. For me, it's hard. The whole world moves on, but you're stuck in a bubble. Everyone's searching for food and water, in survival mode."

She added, "My parents may not have running water for at least three months. In a way, I wish I'd stayed in Florida, where the infrastructure is built for this kind of weather. Here in Asheville, it's not. One windstorm, one flood, and everything can be wiped out. It's all very ironic and shows that climate change is real."

Cairo also lost her job as a waitress and said she might have to leave the area she loves to move to a city like Charlotte in search of work.