Western North Carolina mother of 3 evacuates to Greensboro after Helene

GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — Western North Carolina is still grappling with the widespread damage, leaving many families to face some difficult decisions, including some leaving their homes behind.

Amy Holcombe arrived in Greensboro on Sunday. She packed up her three sons and whatever she could fit in the car, leaving the Town of Fletcher. Her husband stayed behind to deal with the damage.

“I grew up at the coast in Wilmington, so I’ve so I’ve been through hurricanes a lot, but I never imagined living in the mountains that a hurricane is something that would hit us,” Holcombe said

Holcombe lives about 25 minutes outside of Asheville. She is still in disbelief over the damage done by Helene. She knew there would be heavy rain.

“The rain started Wednesday night. and there was so much of it on Thursday and Wednesday night. And then Friday is when the storms hit in the middle of the night,” Holcombe said.

Things got worse, and she started to feel uneasy.

“We see other trees wiggling and moving, and … we don’t know if they’re going to fall or not. So it was it was really, really scary,” Holcombe said.

Holcombe said a large tree fell and narrowly missed her home. It crushed her fence and hit the trampoline in their yard.

She saw her neighbors’ homes split in two by falling trees.

On Friday, things again took a turn for the worse.

“We lost cell service, and we had lost power … Then we lost water Friday night,” Holcombe said. “What do you do when you don’t have any of those things?”

Holcombe says they were completely cut off.

“We couldn’t even get updates about what was happening in our community because … we were disconnected from everything,” Holcombe said.

It can take a toll on any family.

“It got to a critical point for us … having three little kids and trying to do life when you don’t have power or water or and you’re running low on food,” Holcombe said.

She made the tough decision to pack up her three children and travel to Greensboro.

“My sister-in-law was available and willing to take us in … When we found out that the roads were open and we could get here, we decided it was the best thing for us,” Holcombe said.

Her husband stayed behind.

“My husband’s a dentist, and I don’t know what we’re going to do,” Holcombe said. “He has to close the office because he doesn’t have power, and he doesn’t have water … but he also wants to be there for his patients.”

Holcombe doesn’t know when she will return home or what it will look like when she gets there.

“It’s super overwhelming because I know … I’m OK, and … I have what I need to be able to be OK, but I don’t know what it’s going to look like going back,” Holcombe said.

She says she is waiting for power and water to be restored before going back home.

Duke Energy said a majority of customers are expected to have the lights back on by Friday.

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