CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Residents in Charlotte are continuing to recover after Hurricane Helene swept through the area.
Four homeowners along Riverhaven Drive are starting from ground zero after Duke Energy opened the flood gate during Hurricane Helene's aftermath to relieve water pressure at Cowans Ford.
Water rushed through the street, knocking down trees, destroying homes, and pulling down power lines.
“We’ve seen some of the heartbreak as they’ve driven up and the community’s been here to told them, to support them, and to watch them cry and to cry along with them,” neighbor Gidget Dennehy said. “The fact that we had a family that just had 4-month-old twins born that was going to be a part of this community and neighborhood – their home is not completely ripped off the foundation and they have nowhere to live."
Residents and officials say they were not prepared for water to rise about 12 feet.
“The foundations are there, but nothing else is there," Tony Bateman, the Incident Commander for Charlotte Mecklenburg Emergency Management, said. "We were not ready for that. We had not seen that level of destruction. And that was a big change for everyone. No one here has seen that level of destruction before."
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He says he’s not sure how long it will be until everyone in that community is back on their feet.
“It’s going to be a while before we’re through this and people ask ‘how long’ and it’s a hard answer to give them,” Bateman said.