The speed of a flash flood can be both destructive and shockingly deadly. Samantha Hurst of Del Rio was home in late September when Hurricane Helene smashed through Eastern Tennessee. The storm dumped over 40 trillion gallons of water across the southeastern United States according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Destroying whole towns and taking lives in five states.

“I kept moving the car because I didn’t think it would do what it did,” said Samantha. She and her 10-year-old son narrowly escaped before water reached a height of over eight feet in their home. “It was like boom, all of a sudden, it just came up so fast,” she said. The two went to their 73-year-old neighbors' trailer to get her, and then made their way to the raised railroad near the homes. “I said Alice we’ve got to go now.”

As the water broke over the rails, the three struggled forward in knee-deep water trying to get to higher ground. “It was like an ocean coming at us,” she noted, “I said Corbin don't look down at the water.” As the water came up against the tracks, it started to erode the rail bed. “When you would walk, there were no rocks left, it had already washed the rocks out,” she said. In some portions, the rail bed had been washed out leaving tracks hanging across the gaps. Now, also resting against the rail bed are pieces of homes.

As it became too much to walk through, they made their way to a home just off the tracks where others had gathered on the raised front and back porch. “We saw a two-story house go down, the oil barrels like from a big gas station go down, we saw our neighbor Alyssa's humungous garage go down, and where we were at, there was a barn that looked like someone just pushed it,” she said, “cabins went down, we saw all of it.” As the water receded, National Guard helicopters airlifted the stranded group to safety.

The harrowing encounter with flooding is one of many from across the path of Helene. Samantha attributes their survival to the deep belief in her religion and plans to stay at the home that belonged to her parents. “I would love to rebuild, I need a home for my son,” she said. As they start the process of recovery, the home has been completely gutted. “Our furniture is down in the neighbor's yard,” said Samantha chuckling. The 73-year-old neighbor's trailer now lays knocked off the foundation, and a vacant trailer from next door can be found broken in half by a tree 100 yards from its foundation.

Despite the storm, Eastern Tennessee remains resilient. Samantha’s determination to stay is echoed across the affected area, and as they start to rebuild, the American Red Cross will be there to assist them in their recovery.

If you would like to donate to Hurricane Helene recovery efforts, please visit redcross.org/donate.