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Photojournalist
Xavier Martin
Gods Pit Crew member Mark Reitz, right, drags a sled full of mud out of Pearl Shelton’s house in Old Fort, NC on Oct. 16, 2024. Volunteers from Gods Pit Crew bussed in from as far as California, Mississippi, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Virginia to assist in cleanup efforts.
A volunteer takes debris outside of the A volunteer carries damaged items outside of Pearl Shelton’s House in Old Fort, NC on Oct. 16, 2024. Volunteers from God’s PIt Crew, Zion Community Church in Bellfonte, PA and around the Old Fort community are woking to clean out homes ruined by Hurricane Helene.
Jim Morgan, 81, stands inside the remains of his home in Morganton, NC on Sep. 30, 2024. Morgan built his home at the age 32. Flooding from Hurricane Helene caused over $500,000 worth of property damage to his property.
Libby Morgan goes through a box of her mother’s letters on Sep. 30, 2024. Libby and her husband, Jim Morgan reminisced over memories from items that survived the flooding from Hurricane Helene.
Cindy White looks at the remains of her family’s Morganton, NC. home on Sep. 30, 2024. White and her husband, Keith White, had only only finished the property months before floodwaters left the property in shambles.
A stuffed bear, household appliances, and other home and yard debris litter the Morgan family grounds on Sep. 30, 2024. On Sep. 27, 2024, flash flooding carried debris over 100-yards away from surrounding homes.
An American flag and debris hang from the branch of a tree outside Jim and Libby Morgan’s home on Sep. 30, 2024. Flood water from Lake James and the nearby river rose up to the second story of their home during Hurricane Helene on Sep. 27, 2024.
A North Carolina Army National Guard cargo truck drives away from a sunken road along Greenlee Road in Marion, NC on Oct. 1, 2024. Members of the 875th and 883rd Engineer Companies were called in to clear debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
Spc. C. “Bob” Cirino, left, and Sgt. J. Jones, right load bails of hay into the bed of a pickup truck at the McDowell County Agricultural Center on Oct. 31, 2024. The North Carolina National Guard has been assisting the North Carolina Department of Agriculture distribute animal feed, hay, fencing material and other farm supplies.
Burke County Sheriff Banks Hinceman helps unload a pair of water jugs from a cargo truck outside of the Foothills Adult Education Center in Morganton, NC on Sep. 30, 2024. The center is one of four distribution centers in the Morganton area.
Social services worker Christie Carrol pushes a cart of supplies through Foothills Adult Education Center in Morganton, NC on Sep. 30, 2024. Donations of non-perishable food items, water, clothing, toiletries, pet food, and other items are being accepted at the site.
From left: Kathy Kelly, Jimmy Rector, center front, and Donnie Coffey, center back, load damaged items from Salon 337 into a trailer on Sep. 30, 2024. The salon was one of many businesses flooded in the River Village shopping center during Hurricane Helene on Sep. 27, 2024.
Restaurant booths are lined up to dry in front of J. Hartman’s Restaurant in Marion, NC on Oct. 1, 2024. Flash floods from Hurricane Helene covered the furniture and interior with two to three inches of mud.
From left, Albina Gonzales, left, Angeles Amable and Nidea Cruz clean the kitchen inside J. Hartman’s restaurant on Oct. 1, 2024. Restaurant owner Jennifer Hartman estimated that $30,000 worth of food was ruined during the hurricane.
Restaurant owner Jennifer Hartman, right, and manager Pepper Strode inspect a warmer inside the J. Hartman’s Restaurant kitchen on Oct. 1, 2024. Hurricane Helene flooded the interior of the restaurant leaving behind several inches of mud.
Laura Stotts, left, and Toni Hodge, right, clean and pressure wash kitchen appliances behind J. Hartman’s restaurant on Oct. 1, 2024. Laura Stotts, the sister of restaurant owner, Jennifer Hartman, started an online fundraiser to help combat the monumental costs of getting the restaurant back in working order.
The remains of Wanda Creswell’s home on Oct. 29, 2024. The rest of the home was washed down the river during flooding from Hurricane Helene on September 27.
Ava Creswell, right, hugs Shane Creswell, left, by the remains of the family home on Powerhouse Road on Oct. 24, 2024. “Nana, are we homeless?” Ava asked her grandmother, Wanda Creswell, after first seeing the damage.
Christian Hymn books rest on the remains on White Cabin in Morganton, NC. on Sep. 30, 2024. This is the second time that the property had been destroyed by flood waters, previously being rebuilt after flooding from Hurricane Frances in 2004.
Lou Hoffman, right, comforts Wanda Creswell, left, while she recalls the events during Hurricane Elene on Oct. 29, 2024. Both homes on Creswell’s property were washed downriver during the flooding on September 27.
A directional sign lays along the ground at Brown Mountain Beach Resort on Oct. 4, 2024. The resort served as a popular wedding and camping venue.
Brown Mountain Beach Resort employee Brett Gragg, 59, chainsaws a downed tree in half at Wilson Creek in Lenoir, NC on Jan. 17, 2025.
A sign labeled “Game Plan,” lists out the Wallace family’s short-term goals for cleaning up Brown Mountain Beach Resort on Oct. 4, 2024. Co-owner Kelsey Wallace estimates that flooding to the property from Hurricane Helene puts her around $1,000,000 in property damage and repairs.
From left, resort manager Kelsey Wallace, event and wedding planner Amanda Kardol, Caleb Wallace and resort manager Jeremy Wallace take a break between cleaning up Brown Mountain Beach Resort in Lenoir, NC on Oct. 4, 2024. The Wallace family’s home on the property was flooded during Hurricane Helene.
A Bobcat grabs a pile of lumber from a pile at the Brown Mountain Beach Resort in Lenoir, NC on Oct. 4, 2024. Brushy Rock Builders volunteered their heavy-machinery and manpower to help clear up the debris left from Hurricane Helene’s floods.
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