Asheville Photographer Describes Isolation: 'It Was Like Western North Carolina Didn't Exist'

Photographer Matt Henson describes experiencing the deadly flooding in Asheville, North Carolina and documenting the aftermath. After Helene rolled through cellphone service was gone and for about 24 hours Henson said they had no way to communicate with the outside world.
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[@jiggidyjam]

It’s Wednesday at 8p. I live in Black Mountain and I still don’t have any cell,WiFi,power or water. I had to drive to town and find a hotspot to send this. It’s hell on earth here. Pray for us

[@365-hi2u]

@@jiggidyjam 💔😭 for you and your people/town! Father God of Love- “for God so LOVED…” please hear and save your precious ones! Meet them ❤️ as they cry for help. We know our lives are but a vapor; here and then gone. We also know you are the only God of Mercy and Salvation. Thank You for YOUR PROVISION. Bring Peace and Calm and again we ask for their PROVISION… because of Jesus🙏🏼 Amen!

[@Killian689]

@jiggidyjam they're barely talking about it on the news. They're talking about the debate. We arent being told anything. Something is very off here.

[@margaretwebb389]

I am praying! Here outside of Knoxville, how can I help??

[@margaretwebb389]

Seriously how can I help you guys??!!

[@nezhanezha569]

@@jiggidyjam الله يحفظكم وينزل في أقدار الله اللطف بكم

[@jcp5890]

My heart is broken. Lord, keep the people safe. Let the supplies reach them. Let their minds rest and give them peace and hope that surpasses all understanding. Amen

[@AlienTakeover24]

Just overwhelming heartbreaking lost of words breathtaking UNBELIEVABLE

""King Osirus"" ->Really?

[@LuciaChaurand]

This is really heartbreaking after deadly flooding hits in Asheville, North Carolina USA of the Hurricane Helene. 💔 🙏

[@MicheleMichele-p3d]

Praying for everyone 🙏 that is in Ashville this is heartbreaking you are so strong God is there with you all ❤️❤️❤️

[@Nicky-b8o]

God is with these people.

[@astrahcat1212]

Up there EVERYONE would believe in those mountains you were safe from just about anything, never in a million years would anyone have thought this was possible.

[@Nicky-b8o]

Never in 300 million years since the Appalachian mountains were thrust upward from coastal North Carolina. Sand is on top of mountains with proof of oceanic sand.

[@JamesClark-c2m]

@@astrahcat1212 They are high hills really.

[@bobbykiefer4306]

Weather reports said it would be catastrophic in the Asheville area so people knew it was possible before it hit.

[@kellygarvin7955]

Absolutely so

[@margaretwebb389]

@@bobbykiefer4306 It was reported, but not with a large window of warning. Also this has NEVER happened before

[@wallacerodriguez7397]

We lived the same situation when cat 5 Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico. The landscape was totally transformed

[@margaretwebb389]

My heart is with you!

[@jelenedressler]

Hi Matt, checking in from Murphy, NC, all is good here my friend. So sorry you and your neighbors in Fairview didn't fair so well. Our entire county, (Cherokee) has been doing countless food, water and pet food drives all over town to bring to you guys who were hit so badly. Please know that everyone is working very hard to bring you all relief. God bless you and everyone over there that has lost so much. Stay strong.

[@truthseeker2222]

Candler here. Our farm was destroyed, but Franklin was our savior. We frantic drove West looking for gas and food, and found it in Franklin. So grateful. It seems much less damage that way, and I am thankful you all missed the worst of it.

[@patrickmurphy5611]

Praying for Everyone!

[@zoebear1992]

Praying for you all 🙏🙏🙏

[@RacecarSpelledBackwards71]

Hugo level destruction, unfortunately the waterways were so overwhelmed they created this flooding which compounded the destruction 10X..

[@RayeParrish]

Wow no telephone service. This should never happen with the technology we have today. This definitely needs looking into

[@Nicky-b8o]

I still have a landline. I don't have a cell phone. I live in Tennessee mountains!

[@mitchberger2691]

Several politicians in DC who are currently running for office voted against subsiding Starlink satellite wifi. If they had voted for this, many lives could have been saved. But brainless spent 43.5 billiion for the FCC to come up with a plan in 5 years.

[@techman8817]

Yes this is not good. Cell towers on hilltops should be extremely resilient and text messaging at least should be available at lower frequencies like 3g range. I understand these towers usually have backup generators but apparently it didn’t work.

[@Plutogalaxy]

@@techman8817 the government originally required phone companies to have backup generators for every cell tower but the phone companies bribed the politicians to get rid of that requirement so they could make more money. And there you go.

[@tnolan3176]

Where is the government and the national guard !!!

[@gloriagibb-zs4se]

I don't see anyone but civilians helping. They were on their own ;(

[@ericsneary5430]

they deployed 5,000 national guard

[@Matt-fl8uy]

FEMA, the national guard, and the US Marines have all been activated and I know at least the first 2 have been on site for several days now.

[@Serenityfor1]

@@ericsneary5430Right they sent them to a Kuwait two weeks ago.

[@cm1642]

People! We need an alternate form of communication for emergencies!!

[@Nicky-b8o]

Ham Radio. Starlink!

[@cajun1957]

@@Nicky-b8o We have had ham radio for decades but people don't want that, they want a handy cell phone!!!

[@organicfool5634]

GMRS radios. They travel a bit further than simple low-power walkie talkies. License is $30 (no test required).

[@SusanKay-]

​@@Nicky-b8o HAM and CB radios would work.

[@mjlamborn2169]

Wow, I his is so tragic

[@janetprice85]

Unbelievable.

[@thewatchmen4920]

This will take the United States of America to work on this problems. Politicians has to work to make plans. Set aside your differences and pointing fingers. These people who are put in office in their town and state to make plans. Death tolls is SLOWLY going up each and every hour. Other countries need help. But the people of this 🌀 needs help yesterday

[@truthgambit]

That was a really good interview, thank you.

[@WorshipSeasons]

The real horror begins. Clean up, rebuilding, no power and dealing with the insurance companies. I am sorry you are going through this. The damage is unbelievable.

[@Nicky-b8o]

FOX--Great Interview from a person with boots on the ground. Keep sharing the info. I will pass it on to people in NC!

[@markcasler7924]

I can't imagine what these people are experiencing....I am heart broken to see these people that have lost love ones..I have family in Eastern Tennessee...not far from there...God bless them all..

[@JamesAlspaugh]

IT'S GONNA BE A WHILE❤ THEY'RE THERE SO IS THE ALMIGHTY ! I THANK THE SERVICE PEOPLE THEY ARE HARD AT WORK ..WOW WHAT A STORM FOR SURE😢❤

[@JFlower7]

So glad I live in the Pacific NW. We get snow, lots of it but nothing devastating like this. There are some dumb folk in our area who build along rivers, in floodplains.

[@hersheyssmith2104]

The US houses won’t stand a chance against FLOOD! You can’t even stay on the roof for a long time if you want to save yourself because the possibility that it will collapse is high! Look at the houses in the Philippines which has a strong foundation, we’re talking about “REAL FOUNDATION” where you have to dig deeper into the soil, 10 feet or more depending on how many floors your house would have. That would be a solid foundation with REBARS that could stand floods and earthquakes(7 and below). Houses in the US are cheaply made that’s why when it floods, the whole house will be swept away.

[@SupaNami]

Ok, OK!!! @2:07 we all know what "REALLY" happened here!!

[@gloriagibb-zs4se]

The winds picked up to 60mph

[@mitchberger2691]

one will never fill isolated with Jesus in your heart.

""King Osirus"" ->They Were Warned Not To Cross The (Maso Dixon) Line... ->Class Do You Have Anymore Questions?

[@BreezybriefswithBrooke]

I’m here , it’s worse then what the news is saying..😢

[@kellygarvin7955]

I am so sorry. I visit there often and I am heartbroken. I pray constantly for all of you. This too shall pass...I hope quickly for you!❤

[@suzyq4041]

@@BreezybriefswithBrooke I am so sorry....

[@BreezybriefswithBrooke]

@@kellygarvin7955 I’m not from here…. I’m here on a mission to look for FEMA.🙄 Or the national guard 💁🏼‍♀️ Either one would be wonderful ..😤

[@Serenityfor1]

@@BreezybriefswithBrookeFEMA is Mia cause they spent all their money on housing and caring for illegal immigrants.

[@joemancurreri6635]

and biden and kamala couldn't care less. NO FEMA, NO nothing.

[@ericsneary5430]

LOL joe thank you for the laughs your lying BS provided

[@Matt-fl8uy]

FEMA has been on site since last Saturday and Biden has sent a billion dollars in emergency aid as well as contacted leaders down to the mayor of Asheville to ask them what they need.

[@Rebecky31]

@@ericsneary5430 Hate to tell you but he’s correct….

[@deadfairfieldexpedition]

@joemancurreri6635 oh look, another Maga loving liar. Your mind sure is tiny.

[@thecurrentuniverse]

He is right, there are hundreds of thousands of people we haven’t heard from yet.

[@robinlevin9212]

Thank you fox . God Bless prayers up .

[@raydemos1181]

Remember zero cell phones in the 1970s, people got along fine without them, they used pay phones if they needed to call someone also there was no internet at all, wasn't life wonderful

[@susiefairfield7218]

4am to 7am.. mane that was fast!! survived a direct hit from hurricane charley and it was four hours from 1pm to 4pm 😮the wait afterwards is the worst.. really feeling for y’all and keeping ya in our thoughts and prayers id rather face a hurricane here on the beaches in sw florida then up in the mountains… this is a horrible catastrophe hang tough… stay strong

[@carolynmorris1341]

This man needs to win some major awards for his photography!

[@tegoblue]

Kudos on the night pics. That gas station!

[@MystLily]

I don't understand why people stayed in their homes when it's a known flood area. I know the hurricane predictive area was wide but the warnings were there and history of what a big hurricane can do to inland communities is also well documented. People don't want to leave their homes but I don't understand this because you can just treat it like going on holiday and just come back to your home in a week or so depending on the type of damage that happened in your area. It would be enormously hard to predict which places could be devastated given that so much construction happens everywhere which also alters the landscape so somewhere that hasn't flooded for lifespans may flood due to construction that happened towns away. I travelled into the city to my work for 18 years and always knew the areas that would flood so was vary but the last year I worked there was a huge amount of construction underground down in a low lying area, well that year when the cyclone season was on us, the area where all the highrise buildings had been constructed flooded so severely that businesses where wiped out which had never had problems since colonial times. If in doubt, piss off to a safe area and just rough it for a while till the hurricane/cyclone is finished. I've never seen one of your storms do this much widespread damage but they did predict the path the strength and the unpredictable quick action of this particular hurricane. I found it so weird that the outer eye of this storm was not damaging compared to everywhere else it touched.

[@darrylzeh6454]

It was the 14" of rain we got before the tropical storm hit that did this. I have a farm with horses and alpacas and 5 dogs forgive me for riding this out with my animals. Sometimes in the mountains the water has no where to go. But this is our home. That doesn't mean that we are stupid.

[@chestyvulva]

Can someone tell me if McDowell St was flooded? Please tell me Rabbit's/sound space is ok.

[@scottienichols9332]

With a large sized city that Ashville is , they should have had plenty of money in the budget for an emergency evacuation plan , proper areas marked as flood zones . Thier FY25 budjet says exactly where thier cares are , City Councils 6 Strategic Priorities for FY25: Neighborhood and Climate Resilience Equitable, Affordable Housing and Stability Improve and Maintain Infrastructure and Core Services Reparations Reimagining Public Safety Homelessness Strategies Ashville took in 250 billion in tourist dollars , looks like they don't care to spend that on the most important things and now they are in the pistion they are in with the mayor and her can't do attitude . The city goverment should be ashamed and the mayor should be ashamed, all that thinking with feelings instead of facts lead your whole city into the dark . As large as Ashville is there isn't a care or concern for that city , when plenty of little towns got wiped out completely and the citizen there already picking up the prices not waiting for a bail out !!! God bless American and God bless those who truly steped up in this event and are making a diffenrce with actions not just words !!

[@Plutogalaxy]

Even if Asheville took in the almost 3 billion in 2023 for every previous year it would have taken 83 years to bring in 250 billion. If one fact is so incorrect it probably means everything in your comment is suspect.

[@JudyGoodwin-l9b]

The numbers may be incorrect but the general message is right on the money. Liberal policies and really bad leadership exists in Asheville. A common sense approach is needed. Asheville is the only place I have been where a homeless man has a thousand dollar computer and a thousand dollar cell phone. What's up with that?

[@otishaag987]

The World Meteorological Organization states that extreme weather events, such as intense heatwaves and catastrophic floods, have become the new normal.

[@deeward729]

OMG

[@terrybane6206]

Oh no....not the river arts district.

[@Matt-fl8uy]

Which is a major driver of tourism to this area, which is the leading industry.

[@LilyCazxcrter-wc5jo]

051 Evalyn Fords

[@johnalver]

Just know our future is bright Asians know everything and there's no more competition!

[@GDoggy-em2xc]

Y’all miss Trump yet?

[@Matt-fl8uy]

Why? Do people need paper towels thrown at them?

[@Kin_Ton_Ti]

@@Matt-fl8uy I don’t like Trump, but that’s still more than the current buffoons are willing to do.

[@johnalver]

The future is going to be awesome it'll be like: main Street will have a butcher a baker a florist ( money is just liquidity now) because capitalism is done, and we get to reap all the benefits

[@mildotCadet]

Эдгар Кейси ....

[@regdexter4014]

so the sundown towns got taken out

[@chrisalley6282]

@@regdexter4014 🤡

[@robertbolton9450]

NEED PORTABLE RENTAL TOILETS.

[@HurricanePatrick]

Twlk about a Clickbait title

[@ST-xg3gy]

Fox folks believe in SCIENCE yet?😕

[@victoravila866]

Ahahahahah north Carolina is dead ahahhahahhahaha😅 over a 100000 dead 😅

[@twittertwice]

Totally bull. just know Kamala Harris administration so stop the bull. This is a state emergency and the federal program FEMA is helping. This help has to be coordinated and run from a central group that is assessing what needs to be done. Stop the bull!

[@Nicky-b8o]

FEMA is once again asleep at the wheel. They were absent during Katrina. Governors Lee (Tennessee) & DeSantis (Florida) have not waited for federal help or money. They have steeped forth & initiated massive response, National Guard airlifts, volunteers, supplies drops, rescues, zero interest loans.... They know fed & FEMA are so full of bureaucracy that once they give help, it's not needed anymore. Send billions to Ukraine & none to US citizens. Bullshit!

[@nativeamericansede4452]

Tribulation is consolation. Pray our Lady's Holy Rosary (with a contrite heart and a firm purpose of amendment), and you will receive help. You are all in my daily prayers of our Lady's Holy Rosary. God Bless You and Mary keep You.🙏🏼➕️🙏🏼

[@avrilstacy3133]

Ashville is a Big Town with a large population. Where are all the people? The news is showing very little of what has happened. I think thousands of people have drowned.

[@blahblah3201]

Hence the reason of being self sufficient

[@morgasm26]

What does the right to press radio and film even mean in this day and age.?