Damage from Hurricane Helene left Nashville residents on a bachelorette trip in Asheville without water, electricity, or a safe way home for days.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — While Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc across the southeast, two Nashville residents saw the damage firsthand in Asheville, North Carolina. The damage left them stuck for days without water or a way home.
Samantha Roberts, 26, and 31-year-old Bailey Opdahl planned a bachelorette trip to Asheville months before Helene made landfall. After strong winds led them to hunker down, they woke up to large chunks of trees covering the road for miles.
Roberts said that most of her bachelorette party grew up in South Florida and were no strangers to hurricanes. However, they were not as prepared for Helene.
“Our fridge stopped working because we had no electricity,” Roberts told News 2. “We didn’t have running water, so there was no water to even boil or anything like that.”
They had no communication with family members for over 24 hours. Residents in the area took all the girls in and gave them shelter. Eventually, a resident led them to a shuttle route, where a rescue team took them to a nearby fire department.
While none of them were hurt, their hope is that other Asheville residents are safe from the aftermath of the storm.
“Obviously the flooding is super important,” Opdahl said. “Everything’s important in Asheville right now,” Opdahl said.
Roberts and Opdahl said that they were thankful to be home safe and plan to raise awareness for assistance in Asheville.