In one mountain community, a crisis comes into focus
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LEDGER IN-DEPTH
Months after Hurricane Helene devastated Swannanoa, residents are still struggling with displacement, relying on nonprofits and community efforts to rebuild their homes and navigate housing uncertainty
International nonprofit CORE Response has been at the Alan Campos mobile home park in Swannanoa since October rebuilding the 30 mobile homes damaged by Hurricane Helene. (Photo courtesy of Liam Storrings/CORE)
by Lindsey Banks
Maria Salgado awoke Sept. 27 to the sound of firefighters banging on the door of their mobile home in Swannanoa, urging her family to evacuate.
She and other residents of the Alan Campos mobile home park had gone to bed the night before figuring the hurricane headed their way would just bring some rain. But when the Salgados rushed out of their home that morning, the water already reached their ankles. Within hours, the place would be unrecognizable.
While the floodwaters rose, Salgado and her family raced to help neighbors evacuate before running to safety up the hill to a relative’s house.
When Salgado and her husband waded back through chest-deep water later that day to retrieve their children’s Social Security cards and the title to their home, two feet of water covered the floors, and their furniture and belongings had floated from their original locations. The refrigerator was overturned, and food was scattered throughout the kitchen. Almost nothing was salvageable.
Four months later, Salgado and her family haven’t yet moved back, although they’ve continued to pay rent on their spot in the mobile home park. They’ve also been paying rent to Salgado’s brother, who’s been putting them up at his home nearby.
The Salgados are one of hundreds of families whose lives have been torn apart in Swannanoa, an unincorporated community of about 5,340 located 15 miles east of Asheville. Swannanoa has become known as the epicenter of the hurricane-induced housing crisis in Western North Carolina.
An estimated 340 homes were destroyed in Buncombe County, where Swannanoa is located, the Asheville Citizen Times reported. Those displaced have been making do in temporary situations, including hotels, camping trailers, tents, or staying with family and friends for the past four months.
More than 13,000 households across Western North Carolina, including some in Swannanoa, have used a Federal Emergency Management Agency program that pays for hotel or motel stays for people displaced by Helene. About 2,600 families, including 669 in Buncombe County, are currently using the program, a FEMA spokesperson told The Ledger.
Many displaced residents have also relied on help from nonprofits and startup community groups to rebuild their homes or find new ones. But local leaders doing that work say the rebuilding process is just beginning, and for many people, there’s still uncertainty about where they’ll wind up for good.