A First-Hand Account of Hurricane Helene -- Interview with Tanner Woods
Story
This story was submitted on October 19, 2025 by Morgan Brinegar
- Title
- A First-Hand Account of Hurricane Helene -- Interview with Tanner Woods
- Description
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Interview Summary:
Tanner Woods, a senior at Appalachian State University, shared his story of experiencing Hurricane Helene. Before the storm, life in Boone felt normal. The town was growing, new buildings were going up, and people didn’t think a hurricane would ever reach the mountains. Tanner said he didn’t prepare much because he thought the storm would only hit the southern states. When it started to get serious, his roommate left early, but Tanner waited too long and ended up leaving while the storm was already happening.
He remembered power going out, heavy winds shaking his building, and rain pounding on his window. He quickly packed his things and had to walk through fallen trees and deep water to get to his car, all while the storm was raging. He drove home in dangerous conditions, passing flooded cars on the way. After the storm, his apartment was damaged with water leaks and a large hole in the wall. He said Boone looked destroyed, trees were down, buildings were damaged, and the town felt empty and sad.
Tanner said the biggest needs after the storm were food, water, and safety. He remembered how people in Boone came together, handing out food and helping others who lost things. He said the storm made everyone more caring and connected, especially between students and locals. Living through it changed the way he sees his home and community. He now feels more thankful for what he has and wants to be better prepared for future storms. He said his hope comes from seeing how kind and strong people in Boone became during the recovery.
Interview Transcript:
Interviewer: Morgan Brinegar
Interviewee: Tanner Woods
Morgan: To begin, tell me a little about yourself and your ties to the storm and your community.
Tanner: My name is Tanner Woods. I'm a senior here at App State.
Morgan: What's life usually like here before everything changed with hurricane Helene?
Tanner: In my opinion, things are pretty normal, just nothin’ out of the ordinary, you know, just construction on campus, new things being built up. I'd say the community was kind of growing before the storm came in.
Morgan: Okay, so here's some questions about before the storm. When you first heard that Helene was heading this way, what went through your mind?
Tanner: I didn't think it was gonna hit us. I mean, I honestly thought it was just going to impact, like, Florida and Georgia, like the Southern states. But then, where I saw that it was kind of making its way up here. I honestly didn't prepare at all. I just didn't think of it hit us because of the mountains and all, but I was wrong.
Morgan: All right. How did you and roommates or neighbors get ready once you realized it was serious?
Tanner: Uh, well, my roommate took more precaution. He left and went home. I think as soon as it, like, hit. I don't know, maybe like, when it just had gotten to North Carolina. I don't know, maybe it was the closest state or whatever, but he left pretty early, say, a few days earlier, than when it hit. I wasn't prepared at all, so I left like in the middle of it. Or, like, right before it started to get real bad, but it was still pretty bad. Trees had fallen at that point, and roads were kind of washed away. Except for, thankfully the highway I needed to take home. I mean, it was very rainy and dangerous, but the roads were, you know, intact, so I was able to just safely get home.
Morgan: That's good. So, looking back, do you feel like you had enough warning or resources to prepare?
Tanner: Um. There was definitely a lot of warnings, but resources to prepare, I'm not really sure. I feel like it kind of hit everybody by surprise. I think resources were very limited up here. I mean, they had that fundraiser or donations of them sending like care packages up here because we didn't have enough. So, I mean, that just kind of showed that we wasn't really prepared for resources, but we did have warnings that it was coming, I guess we just never thought it was gonna hit the mountains like it did.
Morgan: All right, well, here's some questions about during the storm. I kind of want you to tell your story now. So, can you walk me through what the experience was like for you, like where were you and what was happening around you? And I guess what, like, what did you, what was, what was your story?
Tanner: I was in my room, the next thing you know, like, the power kind of went out. So I was like, okay. Well, my phone was kind of like not really charged to us, so I kind of was freaking out that my phone was going to die and this storm's coming. All you hear is like, my window is kind of like smacking and you could feel like the room. I don't know. I wouldn't say really shaken as much, but you could feel like the wind pushing and hitting hard against, well, and the water hitting hard against the building. And I kind of just had to make a quick decision, too. I just packed up as much as I could. Everything that I thought was valuable, because I didn't really expect to come back for a long time because of the storm at that point. So I just packed up everything and I had a run to my car that was 20 minutes away in another parking lot, and had to hike through the storm to get there. And on the way there, the walk is through, the walk is through a trail to get to the lot, and that trail I take, the trees have fell, so I had to climb over trees in crocs to get to my car. So like, my socks was all soaked and my feet, my clothes were all, like, nasty, and then after I had already got home and kind of chilled and debriefed, the next day, I think, we had got called and said that like our room had damage in it, and some things. Some of my roommates's valuables was messed up. Some of myself got messed up, but it wasn't really nothing valuable. I could easily just throw away stuff. But they had to cut a hole in our room because we had, like pipe damage and water in our walls and, like flooded throughout. It was a pretty stressful time. I didn't know if I was gonna have, like, a place to come back to and stay when I came back. If we was able to come back.
Morgan: Was there a moment during the storm that you'll never forget?
Tanner: Probably driving out of Boone during the storm. Like you see cars kind of driving. I just saw, like, one car completely, like, it was flooded out, like, it was no way it was going being able to be driven. The water had already got that high, but I had already got up on a hill, so I didn't even get to hit it, but you can just tell that that car had been there for a minute sitting there in that water. So, I mean, it was just scary for all people driving home, too. I mean, like, I live an hour and a half away, but I think it took me three hours to get there, because I drove as slow as I could.
Morgan: Okay. Now, here's some questions about kind of after the storm. What did you see or feel the first time you stepped outside after the storm passed?
Tanner: Uh, Boone was dead. It looked awful. It was just... I don't know, everything, the trees were all destroyed, the roads are messed up, businesses and buildings were all, it just looked like a like a ghost town, and then people were still trying to help build a community and get it all back, but you can tell we just needed a little more help. It was just very depressing and sad after the storm.
Morgan: Okay, um, what were the first few days, like, in Boone? Like, what needed attention right away?
Tanner: Hm. I think, like, food supply was a big thing that needed attention, just getting food out to everybody. And like, there was like reports of drownings and stuff. I'm not sure necessarily. I guess in the Boone, Blowing Rock area or the Asheville area, but like, I know that was a thing people was talking about. I know that was a big thing that needed to be focused on was trying to help anybody that could have been any help or was trapped anywhere. I think food and just peoples security as well, just, like, overall, just trying to rejuvenize and build Boone back up again, because it was completely destroyed.
Morgan: Yeah. And sorry to interrupt, but, like, I guess plus food, you got water. People lost their housing, people lost their courses. I remember one of my classes had to get canceled, because it was in Rankin science and that, like, the whole floor was like destroyed.
Tanner: Destroyed.
Morgan: So we had to get moved online. That's just tons of money, if you think about it.
Tanner: Yeah, a lot of people's educations and just overall living was impacted.
Morgan: Yeah. All right, sorry. All right. Who or what helped the most during those first recovery months?
Tanner: I'd say just active Boone community members. I know, like, of course, like, the police, fire department, and first responders and stuff like that, but there's a lot of donations and stuff and like, fly over, like, airdrop type things happening. I don't know, but that really did help a lot, that helped dish out a lot of resources and material, to not only here, but like Blowing Rock and Asheville and any other places in the nearby area that was impacted.
Morgan: All right, here's some questions about community, and I guess more about recovering and all of that stuff. So how have people in your community supported one another since then?
Tanner: They're more giving, and they're more, I'd say, understanding, because I say like, especially the community of Boone’s bonded, like, more together. I'd say, like. the students are more active in the community of Boone, not just the school community, because everybody was impacted by Helene the same. So, like, all very giving and appreciative of everything. I remember people was giving out food for free, just to give it out because they knew people needed it. So, I mean, like.. I just say appreciates another more.
Morgan: Yeah. What changes have you noticed? Like, either in the landscape, the people, or the way things work now?
Tanner: I'd say, a lot of construction, but a lot of it was already rebuilt and kind of polished up. Boone's looking nice again. I'd say landscape wise, like, besides, you know, buildings and facilities, like, the forest has, you know, revived. Like it was destroyed, and a lot of mudslides and stuff like that, but it's all kind of cleared out and it took a lot of work, but a lot of people made Boone look like Boone again.
Morgan: Yep. Okay, here's some, I guess, reflection and closing questions, but just because they're “closing questions,” please just take your time and stuff. Don't rush. We have his all the time in the world. So. How was living through Hurricane Helene, or, how has living through Hurricane Helene changed the way you see your home or your community?
Tanner: Uh.. It made me and honestly made me, like, not appreciate my home as much up here and boom as much as it. Like, I get more homesick now, I guess, because like, nothing's like home, like my house and my real home didn't get damaged from the hurricane, except for, like, small tree did fall on it, but it didn't cost too much damage. So, but in comparison to my room up here, that was damaged, I don't know. It just felt like it could get all taken away from you very suddenly and quickly. So it just made me, I just got more homesick after that. Like, I just wanted to be home more. That was my issue.
Morgan: Wait, did you say during Hurricane Helene, a tree fell on your house back where you're from, Mount Airy?
Tanner: Yeah.
Morgan: So you was affected not only in Boone, North Carolina. You were also affected in Mount Airy, North Carolina.
Tanner: Yeah.
Morgan: Wow. I'm sorry. If another storm were to come, what would you do differently next time?
Tanner: Um, I would just have a lot of my valuable stuff, like, packed up, like, still quickly accessible, but also in a place where I can quickly pack them up and get them ready to go. Maybe pack a lot of food and water. And honestly, I'd probably just beat out the storm, go wherever it's not, honestly.
Morgan: What gives you hope as your community continues to rebuild and move forward?
Tanner: I mean, I see it every day, just everybody's just friendly with one another. That kind of gives me hope. There's no anger, animosity. that you feel in the community. Everyone's kind of just friendly and connects with one another on whatever level it may be. So I feel like everyone's just very understanding and friendly to one another.
Morgan: Could you kind of retell, I guess not retell, but is there anything you want to add?
Tanner: They did fix my room though. It took about…
Morgan: Yeah, I remember you saying your room was damaged until the last week of school.
Tanner: Yeah, like the final exam week, the room was finally fixed. We had a big, like, I wouldn't even say it was a hole, because it was bigger than a hole. It was about a six foot, about four foot hole in the freaking, well, I guess six about a six foot hole, it was a big, it was like a door frame hole in our wall.
Morgan: Kind of like a little Coraline door.
Tanner: Yeah.
Morgan: Actually probably bigger.
Like us and our neighbors could easily just, we can hear everything, talk to each other. It was not cool. And it, like. With the wall being exposed like that, and the water was still in there, it made it smell. It was nasty. Didn't like it... Didn't want to be in my room as much. That also added to me wanting to go home.
Morgan: Were any of your classes or anything affected?
Tanner: Uh, majority of them just got moved online. Um. A lot of, like, assignments got called off and just said that, y'all just study, we'll just take the final exam online… type of thing. Majority just got moved online, zooms and stuff. About a lot of times, they’d not require zooms because teachers would be, you know, they're dealing with their lives, too, their lives are impacted too, so they got things they're dealing with. So a lot of times it's just independent work. You had to turn it in by a certain time, so, school at that time was very easy, but it's not really the school your wanting to, It's not the school...
Morgan: Not the immersiveness…
Tanner: Experience, it's not the experience you want.
Morgan: Yeah. I understand that. Luckily, for me, I lived at App Heights, and you know, that's up that really big hill. We weren't touched by any flooding or anything, but definitely the walks, like the trails were disgusting. And, I don't know. I'm just so, I'm so sorry that happened to you.
Tanner: Everything's good. Everything got fixed, and the communities growing again, so.
Morgan: Yeah. Well, is there anything else you want to add, or?
Tanner: I don't know. I can't think of really anything else, to be honest. - Spatial Coverage
- 240 Locust St, Boone, NC 28608
- Date
- September 27th, 2024
- Item sets
- Unknown
