Storm chaser Aaron Rigsby spoke to AccuWeather about the massive scale of tragedy in western North Carolina and how people are helping others amid the destruction.
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00:00We're joined now by storm chaser Aaron Rigsby from the Old Fort area that's just east of Asheville.
00:06Aaron, when we last talked to you, you were on your way north late last week,
00:10and we understand you've been working to get help to resources to those in need.
00:16Yeah, good evening, Jeff. That's absolutely correct. This town is basically the forefront
00:21of where I-40 westbound is closed, so a lot of that traffic is being turned around and diverted,
00:26and if you could believe it, this gas station behind me in this whole area at one point was
00:31under feet of water, but today it's basically the headquarters of the supplies that's going to be
00:37coming to this area and provided for a lot of these communities, and I tell you, the longer
00:41I'm here and the more stories I hear, it's just the sadder it gets. You know, there's no other
00:46really way to put it. A lot of folks are coming down from the mountains to get some of the
00:50supplies for people that have been completely cut off and are still trapped due to the river
00:55washing away the roadways or the driveways to get to public access and get more food and water
01:00up to those mountain towns. I know that you've been on the ground there all weekend. What's it
01:08like there? What are some of the things that you've encountered, and what are some of the
01:11people's stories? Anything that sticks with you here? Any particular story come to mind?
01:18Yeah, well, absolutely. It's been a variety of different stories that I've
01:22heard from people. Some were here for a wedding, and they ended up getting cut off at their Airbnb
01:27and had to navigate over the debris to get out and get to a place where they can communicate
01:32with people and left all their belongings behind, only to basically get locked out and not be able
01:37to get back to their supplies, so they're stuck there as well. And then right here, I spoke with
01:42a woman earlier as we gave her a couple of cases of water, and she was nearly in tears telling me
01:46that her husband works for Duke Energy, and she's been by herself for three days. So, you know, it's
01:51just heartbreaking story after heartbreaking story, and the more that the service starts to
01:54come back in these areas very slowly, the more we're starting to realize the scale of this
01:59devastation left behind. It just seems like mountain town after mountain town has been
02:03severely damaged or wiped out, including this town over here beside me. I mean, it's basically just
02:09buried in mud at this point. There's trailers that have been moved from their current location
02:13into others, and it's been the same case at any town that has been near the river that I've come
02:18across. What does this compare to the storm surge flooding that you began this storm by covering
02:26in terms of scale or anything that jumps out at you comparing those two aspects of this storm?
02:33Yeah, so basically, if you take that storm surge and the damage that we saw from that and the
02:38impacts that it had and spread it over the entire Appalachian Mountains, that's essentially what
02:42we're dealing with. It's that serious. I mean, it's just no other way to put it, especially,
02:46I mean, there's buildings that have literally been moved. The rivers and stream here are
02:50basically unrecognizable. I mean, they've almost doubled in size, have cut new ways through the
02:55earth where homes once stood. And when I was over in Chimney Rock, I had my drone up in the air at
03:00one point talking with a couple of locals, and they told me that there should have been houses
03:04there. And now it's just a very wide river where those houses once stood. So, you know, I can't
03:09imagine how many houses have been lost, and we still have over 700 unaccounted for from Hurricane
03:15Pauline. It's an awful, awful situation there. And again, the death toll has risen and will
03:21continue to rise, it seems, as some of those who are not accounted for are being accounted for
03:26with the unfortunate results. Aaron, anything else you want to leave us with here? I know
03:30you're doing some good things here on a personal level, helping people in need.
03:35Yeah, absolutely. Last night, you know, before I went to bed, I've been so exhausted the last
03:39several days just covering such a large area that I couldn't wait to wake up, and I immediately
03:44went to the store and bought a bunch of cases of water where I brought, I was originally going to
03:49Asheville, but it ended up being a blessing in disguise that I couldn't make it, because that's
03:52how I stumbled across here in Old Fort, where I met a couple of locals from Hickory, where we
03:56actually went back into town, gathered more supplies and donations, and brought another
04:01load of food and water for the residents here that have been just super grateful for the donations
04:06that they've gotten. And to be able to provide some relief to these folks around here has been
04:11very satisfying. It makes me grateful that I could be here and at least play a small part
04:14in the recovery efforts and give some people some hope. All right, well, thanks for all that you're
04:18doing, Aaron Rigsby, and also the stories that you're telling, they're important stories for
04:21others to hear here in Western North Carolina.