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Helene floods wipe out Asheville River Arts District businesses: ‘Completely destroyed’

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Helene floods wipe out Asheville River Arts District businesses: ‘Completely destroyed’

ASHEVILLE – Overlooking the River Arts District, the Riverlink Bridge, a central gateway between downtown and West Asheville, has become a sort of hub for gathering as residents reel from the historic damages that have leveled businesses during the devastating floods caused by Tropical Storm Helene.

Asheville, NC floods live updates: Buncombe County to discuss latest relief efforts

As the water rushed past during the early afternoon of Sept. 28, the river was still well above it’s banks at over 17 feet, according to NOAA. Bystanders continued to flock to the bridge named after a regional nonprofit that has dedicated its purpose to the health and safety of the French Broad River. The reaction for many is a sense of serious awe, grief and horror as the River Arts District below, known for being one of the most prominent art hubs the Western North Carolina region, totally floods.

For many business owners in the district, the destruction is total. Along Depot Street, a car sits empty in the middle of the road with its window open and child seats full of mud, seemingly dragged from its original location. Just a little bit further down the road, Erin Quevedo, the owner of Balm Salon on Depot Street, was ankle deep in mud attempting to salvage what she could of her business.

“The salon was completely destroyed. It looks like the water came up to about five feet inside,” Quevedo said. Five hair stylists worked at the salon along with her.

“Right now, all we’re doing is we’re trying to salvage what we can,” Erin Quevedo said, noting that only a few things, like hairstyle tools, were salvageable. “A lot of it was underwater.”

Inside the salon, the flooding had caused parts of walls to flake off, as her husband, Ted , bagged hair products and supplies while standing in a thick veil of mud. The future is unclear.

“It’s really heartbreaking. I’m not really sure what we’re gonna do. I think it’s just kind of one step at a time,” Quevedo said.

“I would like to rebuild if I can, but, I mean, it’s really hard to say. Like this might be just like a devastating blow to my business, my livelihood,” she continued.

Other businesses seem entirely broken by the floods. Second Gear along Riverside Drive has seemingly imploded under the weight of the river.

Just a few minutes away from Depot Street, Jason Razillard hands out baked goods and coffee out of the back of his van as residents pass by and loiter in shock of the event on the Riverlink Bridge. Just after getting a cold brew from the man, Gabby Fricke, a Deaverview resident who was staying with friends in West Asheville, reflected on the horror of the event.

“It’s heartbreaking. It really is. We’re a bit insulated because we’ve seen broken down trees, but this? This was jarring,” said Gabby Fricke. “I can’t imagine what the people in the Swannanoa Valley are going through.”

Others took to rowing down the river in canoe or kayak while others just stared from the bridge as kegs — likely from one of the many damaged breweries in the area — propane tanks and shipping containers have slowly made their way down the river. A mess of debris from the storm has collected at the Craven Street Bridge, seemingly locking itself against the road as the river hurries past.

Fricke’s friend, Hannah Bink, is from Wilmington, the North Carolina shoreside city that commonly encounters hurricanes and tropical storms. Bink, however, felt that Asheville’s flooding was far different, as Wilmington often has the infrastructure and planning in place for weather events.

“There’s infrastructure in place the river can be contained,” Bink said of Wilmington’s containment of the Cape Fear River.

“This was clearly not planned. None of this was planned,” Bink said, looking out onto the French Broad.

More: Asheville, NC flooding live updates: ‘Biblical devastation’ reported; supplies coming by air, Gov. says

Asheville Citizen Times Local News Editor Aaron Nelsen Contributed to this story.

Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Got a tip? Email him at WHofmann@citizentimes.com. Consider supporting this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Time

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