Hendersonville, Asheville, Swannanoa, NC

 My mom asked me to drive her to her hometown of Swannanoa - about 27 miles away.  Swannanoa was one of the hardest hit areas from Hurricane Helene.  Never fear - we did not obstruct any cleanup crews or first responders.  Traffic was actually flowing pretty well and we didn't stop the car to take any of these photos either.

I'm just going to upload a few dozen photos without much comment.  They speak for themselves about the power of nature.  We started in the Biltmore area and drove to Swannanoa.  Most roads were open but there were several that had cops or rescue personnel monitoring traffic.  We did not go down any of those streets.  If you see a car in a photo, it was likely completely underwater during the storm.  I'm sure there are worse areas but this is pretty bad!  

This is the Biltmore area of Asheville near the entrance to the Biltmore House.

 

We drove by where my mom grew up - formerly my Grandmother's house in Swannanoa.  It is on high ground so was not apparently harmed.

Then we drove out on some side roads in the Buckeye community where she know a lot of folks growing up.  Fall just starting to turn the leaves.....little damage here except fallen trees in places and washed-out creeks.

The rest of the photos are from Swannanoa proper.