Hurricane Helene – Story in Photos

Jun 18, 2025 | Hurricane Helene

A large pile of garbage bags, debris, and discarded furniture sits in front of an abandoned gas station and food mart, with empty fuel pumps and boarded-up windows, surrounded by leafless trees and overcast skies.

Garbage piles up at a closed gas station near the Swannanoa River in Asheville, more than six months after Hurricane Helene caused devastating floods in the area.

The flood waters receded months ago and the national media has turned its attention elsewhere, but in western North Carolina, the impacts of Hurricane Helene are still seen and felt every day.

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Matt Poore Ruminant Nutrition Extension Specialist, speaks with farmers who suffered damage from Hurricane Helene during an informational session to help them in their recovery efforts at the Agricultural Conference Center April 24, 2025, in Boone, N.C.

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A crumpled shipping container and a collapsed building along the banks of the Swannanoa River, April 11, 2025, still remain more than six months after the storm.

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Megan Riley, owner and operator of M R Gardens in Asheville, in her greenhouse, April 11, 2025. With the city water system shut down in early October 2024, Riley was in danger of losing her plants. Extension agent Luke Owen helped locate a 350-gallon tank full of water to help Riley save her plants and keep her business operating.

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Steph Kulesza, Assistant Professor & Extension Specialist – Nutrient Management & Animal Waste, speaks with farmers who suffered damage from Hurricane Helene during an informational session to help in their recovery efforts at the Agricultural Conference Center April 24, 2025, in Boone, N.C.

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Mountainside erosion is evident from Hurricane Helene outside of Boone, N.C., photographed April 24, 2025.

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Ed Winebarger stands on a damaged culvert beneath the dam of his pond on his seven-acre farm in Watauga County, which has been in his family for nearly 200 years. Runoff from Hurricane Helene eroded and breached the dam, and also damaged Winebarger’s road and garden. Working through the winter, Winebarger has repaired many of the damaged areas, and is hopeful that his farm will be fully operational this year.

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Ed Winebarger, shows an area of sand and silt where water in his pond used to be four to five feet deep. Runoff from Hurricane Helene also washed out the dam to his pond, and Winebarger’s road and garden, causing thousands of dollars in damage. Working through the winter, Winebarger has repaired many of the damaged areas, and is hopeful that his seven-acre farm in Watauga County will be fully operational this year.

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Kendra Phipps, Extension Agent, Agriculture – Livestock & Field Crops, N.C. Cooperative Extension, Watauga County Center, speaks with farmers who suffered damage from Hurricane Helene during an informational session to help farmer in their recovery efforts at the Agricultural Conference Center April 24, 2025, in Boone, N.C.

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Debris from Hurricane Helene at Manna Food Bank, along the banks of the Swannanoa River, April 11, 2025, still remains more than six months after the storm.

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N.C. A&T Cooperative Extension agent Michael Rayburn, right, talks with horticulture teacher Lewis Foote April 11, 2025, about the damaged irrigation system, foreground, which had to be removed at Community High School in Swannanoa, NC. Foote led the school in achieving USDA Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) certification, which allowed CHS Horticulture and Foods students to grow, harvest, prepare, and serve food from the school garden in the cafeteria. The school’s garden was flooded when Hurricane Helene hit Western North Carolina last September.

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The Dr. John Wilson Community Garden, a program of Black Mountain Parks and Recreation, rents 200 and 400 square foot plots to residents. Gardeners grow food for donation on 10% of their plot. Part of the garden, which lies beside the Swannanoa River, was flooded when Hurricane Helene hit Western North Carolina in September of 2024.

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Tree debris from Hurricane Helene in a collection area outside of Boone, N.C., photographed April 24, 2025. The debris is still being collected and mulched more than six months after Helene devastated much of Western North Carolina.

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A collapsed bridge over the Swannanoa River, and the scoured riverbed, April 11, 2025, more than six months after Hurricane Helene devastated Asheville and parts of Western North Carolina..

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A collapsed building along the banks of the Swannanoa River, April 11, 2025, still remains more than six months after the storm.

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Debris from Hurricane Helene at Manna Food Bank, along the banks of the Swannanoa River, April 11, 2025, still remains more than six months after the storm.

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N.C. A&T Cooperative Extension agent Michael Rayburn stands by a massive tree stump and other debris from Hurricane Helene which still remains at Manna Food Bank, along the banks of the Swannanoa River, April 11, 2025, more than six months after the storm.

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Over 100,000 vehicles were damaged by Hurricane Helene across six states, and many of those were in the Asheville area. Many, such as these along the banks of the Swannanoa River in Asheville, April 11, 2025, still remain with debris from destroyed structures more than six months after the storm.

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Debris from Hurricane Helene along a creek outside of Boone, N.C., photographed April 24, 2025.

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Over 100,000 vehicles were damaged by Hurricane Helene across six states, and many of those were in the Asheville area. Many, such as these along the banks of the Swannanoa River, April 11, 2025, still remain more than six months after the storm.

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Over 100,000 vehicles were damaged by Hurricane Helene across six states, and many of those were in the Asheville area. Many, such as these along the banks of the Swannanoa River, April 11, 2025, still remain with debris from destroyed structures more than six months after the storm.

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Hillside erosion and rubbish are reminders from Hurricane Helene outside of Boone, N.C., photographed April 24, 2025.

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Ed Winebarger stands on the lower end of his garden beneath the dam of his pond on his seven-acre farm in Watauga County. Runoff from Hurricane Helene eroded and breached the dam, and also damaged Winebarger’s road and garden, cutting a trench through the large areas. Working through the winter, Winebarger has repaired many of the damaged areas, and is hopeful that his farm will be fully operational this year.

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Ed Winebarger, right, shows Richard Boylan, N.C. Extension Cooperative Area Specialized Agent, Agriculture, an area where he’s growing a cover crop of clover on his seven-acre farm in Watauga County. Runoff from Hurricane Helene flooded and eroded Winebarger’s road and garden, causing thousands of dollars in damage. Working through the winter, Winebarger has repaired many of the damaged areas, and is hopeful that his farm will be fully operational this year.

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Over 100,000 vehicles were damaged by Hurricane Helene across six states, and many of those were in the Asheville area. This vehicle along the banks of the Swannanoa River, April 11, 2025, had to be removed from the riverbed, and still remains more than six months after the storm.

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A sign warns of flash floods next to the Leola Community Garden, which is beside the Middle Fork South Fork New River, and the Walmart Supercenter, which was heavily flooded during Hurricane Helene in September of 2024.

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N.C. A&T Cooperative Extension agent Michael Rayburn, left, talks with Leonora Stefanile, manager of the Dr. John Wilson Community Garden in Black Mountain, April 11, 2025, about the area of riparian repair, foreground, which was planted with native silky dogwood trees following erosion when Hurricane Helene hit Western North Carolina last September.