Residents in Fairview, North Carolina, are trying to piece their community back together after flooding from Helene caused damage to homes and roads in the area.
Caitlyn Eker was without power for a week. She said after seeing the damage Helene caused, she is fearful of more devastation down the line.
Eker lives near a creek and has been clearing out debris from a landslide that nearly missed her home.
The sound of helicopters circling the area is breaking the quiet Eker became used to lately.
“It's a Catch-22 though, because you also know that the reason why the helicopters are going nonstop is because they're still continuing, like the search and rescue efforts. And so there's still a lot of people that are unaccounted for," Eker said.
Ekler is cleaning up where she can. She said the damage left behind an unstable driveway and a bridge that she's worried will eventually collapse.
“The biggest reason why I'm cleaning up, is because we're a little concerned that this bridge isn't completely stable. And, like, it's really hard to ask somebody from the county to come evaluate it, because there's bridges that are completely gone,” Eker said.
She said she finds comfort in the community that showed up through the storm. While grateful, Eker said she feels guilty too, especially when asking for help.
“It's really hard to, I think the other thing, too, is like, ask for help. When you know, the others have so much more need," Eker said.
Eker said some of her neighbors lost everything they had.
“One of the things that I'm very grateful to is that I feel like we've got to know our neighbors a lot better through this," Eker said. "You do what you can with what you have, and you put one foot in front of the other, and that's all you can do. And I think that's what everyone's doing.”
Crews are still working to restore power to residents in the area. Many roads are only accessible with ATVs because of the damage from Helene, officials said.