Residents pick up the pieces after hurricane devastation
The Guardian Weekly|October 11, 2024
After keeping vigil all night, Fesperman, 32, Jason decided it was finally safe to sleep. By 6am on Friday 27 September, he figured the worst of the rain from Hurricane Helene had passed. Jonathan Creek, the normally ankle-deep stream that runs through his backyard in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, had stayed within its banks.
Holly Kays
Residents pick up the pieces after hurricane devastation

Just over two hours later, his wife, Dan, woke him in a panic. Heavy rain continued past 9am in Maggie Valley, and by 8.30am, floodwaters were rising fast. Their home was underwater up to the windows.

"Water was filling up, I would say, probably about an inch a minute," he said. "I mean, it was pouring in, from the toilets, the windows, both doors." Blindly stuffing clean laundry into a bag, he joined his wife and sevenyear-old son outside and somehow managed to start the Jeep, which was underwater to the bonnet. Now, the family is staying at an evacuation shelter with 30 other storm survivors, wondering what comes next.

Fesperman and his family are some of the lucky ones - they made it out with their lives. More than 225 people have now been confirmed dead, both in Florida where the hurricane first made landfall and across a five-state region in the southern Appalachians that includes North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia. That number continues to rise as search and rescue efforts are ongoing. The disaster has destroyed towns, inflicted billions of dollars in damage, and prompted Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump to visit the stricken region.

The Gulf Coast of Florida remained on alert this week as Hurricane Milton threatened to wreak more havoc in the areas affected by Helene.

The catastrophe in North Carolina unfolded in an area that was not meant to bear the brunt of Helene's power.

225

The number of deaths in Florida and a five-state region in the southern Appalachians, which could still rise

But the climate crisis has upended traditional models of hurricane season-generating storms that are faster, wetter and more powerful.

This story is from the October 11, 2024 edition of The Guardian Weekly.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the October 11, 2024 edition of The Guardian Weekly.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM THE GUARDIAN WEEKLYView All
FROM DOCTOR TO BRUTAL DICTATOR THE RISE AND FALL OF ASSAD
The Guardian Weekly

FROM DOCTOR TO BRUTAL DICTATOR THE RISE AND FALL OF ASSAD

0N THE FACE OF IT AT LEAST, the Bashar al-Assad of 2002 presented a starkly different figure from the brutal autocrat he would become, presiding over a fragile state founded on torture, imprisonment and industrial murder.

time-read
5 mins  |
December 13, 2024
What fresh alternatives can be used to placate coriander haters?
The Guardian Weekly

What fresh alternatives can be used to placate coriander haters?

Everyone knows a hater of coriander - also known as cilantro - who won't go near the stuff. Itamar Srulovich, however, is not one: \"I adore fresh coriander, and always have,\" says the chef/co-owner of the Honey & Co group in London.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 13, 2024
Farage is lying in wait.Britain cannot afford to see Starmer fail Jonathan Freedland
The Guardian Weekly

Farage is lying in wait.Britain cannot afford to see Starmer fail Jonathan Freedland

This government must not fail. Let's get that clear from the start. If Keir Starmer does not succeed, too many British voters will conclude that both the traditional parties, Labour and Conservative, have proved useless and that it is time to try something else with that something else being nationalist populism.

time-read
3 mins  |
December 13, 2024
Compromise may be Macron's only hope of restoring confidence Paul Taylor
The Guardian Weekly

Compromise may be Macron's only hope of restoring confidence Paul Taylor

Having failed to solve France's political crisis with a prime minister dependent on the far right, President Emmanuel Macron is exploring a deal with the Socialist party (PS) to give the country a new government, pass an overdue budget and avert financial turmoil.

time-read
3 mins  |
December 13, 2024
It's a sad story for us all that fewer children are reading for pleasure Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett
The Guardian Weekly

It's a sad story for us all that fewer children are reading for pleasure Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett

On the shelf in my son's bedroom is a row of picture books that once belonged to me.

time-read
3 mins  |
December 13, 2024
The Guardian Weekly

'Gun control is dead, and we killed it'

Blueprints for 3D-printed weapons are increasingly being used by far-right extremists to evade gun control laws. So what can be done?

time-read
10+ mins  |
December 13, 2024
Help support the victims of conflict in a volatile world
The Guardian Weekly

Help support the victims of conflict in a volatile world

When we came to choose the theme of our 2024 charity appeal, we quickly realised it would be impossible to ignore that this has been an especially harrowing year of conflict, war and human suffering.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 13, 2024
Ring master The Trump circus is already back in town
The Guardian Weekly

Ring master The Trump circus is already back in town

The grand reopening of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris last Saturday was attended by around 50 heads of state and government.

time-read
3 mins  |
December 13, 2024
Object lessons Behind the scenes of a museum's grand reserves
The Guardian Weekly

Object lessons Behind the scenes of a museum's grand reserves

A tour of the newarchive collection of London's Science Museum andits associates reveals a cornucopia of wonders and treasures

time-read
4 mins  |
December 13, 2024
Double takes The rise of the celebrity lookalike competition
The Guardian Weekly

Double takes The rise of the celebrity lookalike competition

When Miles Mitchell's friends saw fliers scattered across New York City last month advertising a Timothée Chalamet lookalike competition, they urged the 21-yearold college senior from Staten Island to enter.

time-read
3 mins  |
December 13, 2024