A modern-day Pompeii in North Carolina. Unimaginable loss. Gift link: wapo.st/3XOffyS

‘Completely and entirely erased’: How Helene swallowed one mountain town

Scenes of destruction and suffering lay almost everywhere in Swannanoa, N.C. — cars in tree limbs, mangled homes, mud-choked roads and people desperate for water and food.

“Nearby, someone discovered that an 18-wheeler wrecked during the storm was full of bottled water, and dozens of people came to grab cases and hand out cases to others, until police officers arrived and shouted for them to leave. ‘You are stealing!’ one shouted as the crowd dispersed.” :-/

Those poor people