Between August 16 and 17 last year, torrential rains from Tropical Storm Fred brought deadly flash floods to the North Carolina Mountains. Seven people died in Haywood County.
Six months after the storm, the Town of Canton and surrounding communities are still working to rebuild from the damage.
What You Need To Know
Last year, on August 16 and 17 heavy downpours from the remnants of Tropical Storm Fred caused deadly flooding
Seven people were killed in Haywood County
Six months later, communities in hard-hit areas are still reeling and picking up the pieces
"It's been a long road for everybody involved, both county government, as well as the folks who were effected by the floods," said Haywood County Emergency Services Director Travis Donaldson.
"There's been a lot happen in the past six months. A lot of cleanup, a lot of initial recovery, getting people connected with resources and items that can help them with long-term recovery," he said.
One of the hardest hit areas is Canton, which straddles the Pigeon River.
“Park Street is where our town hall, fire department, police department is located, our colonial theater and our historic museum. And all of those town facilities were destroyed,” said Canton Mayor Zeb Smathers.
Rain from the tropical storm brought flash flooding down the river. The flood killed seven people upstream from the town before destroying buildings in Canton.
The town plans to move some of their public buildings and emergency services away from the river.
“When emergencies hit, we can’t be serving our public needs when our own homes are engulfed in emergencies,” Smathers said in a recent interview.
“That day started out as any other rainy day. No one knew that 12 hours later, that would be the last day they’d ever spend in their homes,” the mayor said.
President Joe Biden declared a major disaster for Buncombe, Haywood and Transylvania counties after the floods. The declaration cleared the way for federal help for people whose homes and businesses were destroyed by the floods.
The storm knocked down trees and washed out roads across the three counties.
Hardest hit was the Cruso community, not far from Canton, where U.S. 276 winds its way into Pisgah National Forest along the Pigeon River.
The river rose fast during the heavy rains. Flash flooding along this stretch of the Pigeon picked up cars and toppled mobile homes. The seven people who died in the flood lived along this stretch of river.
The cleanup continues in Haywood County, six months after the storm.
"There's a lot of debris being gathered out of the streams and that process is ongoing. So people seeing that work actually being done, I think brings some hope to folks," Donaldson said.