SWANNANOA, N.C. — A Swannanoa woman is homeless after Hurricane Helene tore through her neighborhood in western North Carolina. Before the fatal storm, she'd been living there for four decades.
With her home now deemed uninhabitable and, 82-year-old Oleeta Boone is left with no where to go. Thankfully, she was able to leave the house before the storm hit.
But when she returned, her house was destroyed.
Swannanoa's cell service had been majorly impacted by the storm, leaving Boone unable to reach her family after the Helene left the town.
When cell service finally returned, she found out her family had considered her missing.
"My stepdaughter put me on Facebook trying to find me. Mr. Davidson, Ben Davidson the oil company man came searching for me," said Boone.
She wasn't the only resident in her area whose house had been decimated. Boone's neighbor, Caroline, and her husband Khal lost almost everything in their basement. The couple said they're lucky to be here despite the circumstances.
They're thankful for the strong community in Swannanoa.
"The people in this community, in the mountains has the attitude of, 'well someone else has it worse than me and I can help them even people who have lost everything.' It's just absolutely incredible," said the couple.
Many homes throughout western North Carolina have been damaged beyond repair, with many people being left with only the clothes on their backs. But Boone said the amount of support she's received has been overwhelming.
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