Asheville residents describe aftermath of Hurricane Helene as city prepares for long road to recovery

More than 40 trillion gallons of rain smothered the Southeast United States from Hurricane Helene, which carved a path of destruction through western North Carolina. Asheville was particularly hard hit.

On Tuesday, Bri Veilleux was one of many shoppers waiting in line at a Harris Teeter on Merrimon Avenue. The store was handing out water and ice to customers.

She said she was fortunate she never lost power, but she has no water.

"We've been hosting anybody and everybody in our community at our house," she said. "And I actually just got a lot of donations this morning, which is why I'm here ... I'm a social worker, so I'm trying to get groceries. I know a lot of families that they don't have power, water or transportation."

Zach Foisie lives in north Asheville. He said everyone was wholly unprepared, and he thought the storm would be mostly rain until he woke up early Friday.

"I think it was like three, four in the morning, and it's just howling winds, 70-80 mile-an-hour winds, and all you can hear are the sounds of exploding pines," Foisie said. "And you wait for what seems like an eternity — you know gravity probably only takes two seconds for a tree to fall — and you just hear thump, thump, thump, and you're just waiting for that one tree to cave into the room that you've chosen."

Foisie said it was like roulette with the stakes higher than ever.

"We've all gone to a casino, and you always lose your money, but this is the casino of your life," he said. "And you're wondering, like, 'Is this the time that I'm unlucky.'"

He said fortunately trees missed his home and car, but he was blocked in for a day.

"Probably about 1 p.m. was the sound of chainsaws, and everybody hates that small motor noise," Foisie said. "And that was probably the best thing I'd ever heard. It's that just revving of those small little motors everywhere, and that's all we've heard, and all Beaver Dam is just chainsaws constantly."

Ruth Smith said she had power but no water, and some family members without both have been displaced.

"Services right now are down indefinitely, but I feel as a city, as residents come together, everyone has been helping one another, and it's been such a resilience of strength to get through this storm," she said. "But we will prevail."

Search and rescue efforts continue throughout the region.