"Carmen, her husband and three children were sound asleep in their western North Carolina home when she heard her phone ring that late September morning. It was her brother-in-law alerting the family to downed trees, powerlines and homes destroyed by historic rain and strong winds from Hurricane Helene.

Carmen looked outside as she talked with her brother-in-law. The river that usually flowed contained within its banks behind her property was nearly level with her home's foundation.

"I believe that if we never received that call, I don't know what would have happened," she says in Spanish. "Maybe the current would have taken us.""

Nate Perez reports for NPR December 23, 2024. [2]