HAYWOOD COUNTY, N.C. — Adele Barcia has learned to appreciate the beauty in life after so many weather-related issues over the past few years in Haywood County.

“All these wonderful, pretty, cheery flowers,” Barcia said as she organized her vase with another bouquet gifted to her. “I call them my storm rescue. She always brings me flowers. I call them stormies.”

What You Need To Know

  • One year ago, Adele Barcia was continuing to pick up physical and emotional remnants of Tropical Storm Fred. Barcia said she is still continuing to do so
  • It has now been two years since Tropical Storm Fred hit Haywood County
  • In April, the North Carolina Land and Water Fund granted $2 million to Haywood Waterways aiming to support flood risk reduction projects
  • Barcia’s main hope is that the banks will be built up to protect her neighborhood

On the week of Tropical Storm Fred’s two-year anniversary, a tree fell on her car during a thunderstorm. She is now using a rental, and she’s been through this many times before.  

“A big, huge lump of tree on the car,” Barcia said. “It went through my sunroof and broke my headlight and my front bumper.”

Barcia has been living in fear since August 17, 2021. Her home sits alongside the Pigeon River. Tropical Storm Fred caused flash flooding in Haywood County and took six lives, leaving the community forever changed. 

Barcia didn’t know if she would ever see her granddaughter again during the storm, and the two lived in a shelter for months following the damage. According to Barcia, all she could see was water everywhere, until rescue teams came to guide her to safety.

“It was in my front yard and down the road, there was nothing that you couldn't see but water,” Barcia said. “We had 12 to 15 feet of water here.”

One year ago, Barcia was picking up physical and emotional remnants of the storm. Barcia said she is still continuing to do so. 

“If they say there's a chance of flooding, the shaking on the inside starts, and it doesn't stop until after the storm,” Barcia said.

Her eyes are on the river every day, and her bags are still packed.

“It's quiet, and it's tranquil until the storms come up to the stump," Barcia said. "Then, you know to get out. That's it.”

After the storms her community has experienced, she said they are exhausted.

“It's just like, we're burnt out,” Barcia said. “I think we're all burnt out. Every storm, every rain, every everything.”

In April, the North Carolina Land and Water Fund granted $2 million to Haywood Waterways aiming to support flood-risk reduction projects. 

According to the North Carolina Land and Water Fund, once completed, the major benefits of the project will include a more secure water intake source for Canton and more flood storage to reduce physical and economic impacts during flood events.

The grant contract is now being finalized. As planning and preparation begins for this project and other efforts, Barcia’s main hope is that the banks will be built up to protect her neighborhood.