SUGAR GROVE, N.C. — Parts of Watauga County will need some of the greatest resources in the days, weeks, months and years ahead.
The unincorporated area of Sugar Grove is by far one of the most affected areas in the county.
Caked mud clings to a playground beside a field where grass was replaced by riverbed sediment, rocks and debris.
Many homes are devastated, damaged beyond repair. Gov. Roy Cooper visited the area earlier in the week and called it one of the hardest hit communities in western North Carolina.
Days after the governor’s visit, downed powerlines dangled over debris as cars sat in a nearby creek bed.
The area outside Rick Rominger’s home is no different.
“Pretty much it flooded everything. It flooded all through here. It got up in that trailer with mud. (If) you can imagine how high it was out there,” he said.
Rominger has never lived anywhere else but Watauga County. He said this storm tops them all.
He pointed to a pile of garbage cleared out from inside his house.
“I think that’s a mess. That’s about it,” he said.
Rominger, 68, is a man of few words but a person needn’t say much when pain and suffering is all around. He said he is happy to have boots covering his feet.
“What can I do but just sit there and watch it go? Grabbed what I could and grabbed my shoes,” Rominger said.
Directly across the street from Rominger is Cove Creek Baptist Church. A crib from the nursery was placed on the curb and several items from the basement had to be removed.
Somehow the sanctuary was untouched.
Down the road is the Henson Chapel UMC Church. Charles Henson is a trustee of the church whose namesake founded it. Henson said while mud coated every inch of the basement, the congregation will keep the faith.
“This is just something we have to go through. This was biblical flooding. It really was.” Henson said.
People here are optimistic about the advent of a temporary bridge being built by the end of the week. The goal is reconnecting these communities, and residents say hope is sure to be the fuel of the day.