North Carolinaās Jesse Craig is mourning the loss of 11 family members who were killed by a mudslide caused by the ābiblical devastationā of Hurricane Helene.
Among those dead are Jesseās mother and father, and the houses in the small community called āCraigtown,ā where generations of the tight-knit family lived for 80 years.
Keep reading to learn more about this tragic story.
After destroying parts of Florida, Hurricane Helene made its way north, unleashing its fury as it ripped apart everything along its wicked path.
The devastating tropical cyclone killed about 230 people across Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee, and is now considered the deadliest mainland hurricane since Katrina in 2005.
Since September 27, Helene flooded much of western North Carolina and raging mudslides ripped victims and their homes from mountainous communities.
Rescue along with recovery teams, and K9 Units are still searching through the ābiblical devastationā caused by Helene.
Among those dead are 11 members of the Craig family, who lived about 12 miles southeast of Asheville in a community dubbed Craigtown, which was slammed by Helene.
Fox News reports that the ā11 deceased family members lived in several houses beside each other, which the mudslide crushed when it came down the slope of the mountain near their homes.ā
āMy mother and father, my aunt and uncle, my great aunt and uncle, Iāve lost cousins, second cousins, things like that, but 11 people overall from this mudslide,ā Jesse Craig tells ABC of his family, described as āpillars of the communityā in a GoFundMe campaign created to support the surviving members.
āItās unrecognizable now, but this is where I was born and raised,ā Jesse says of the land his grandfather bought 80 years ago. Since, generations of Craigs were born and raised in the family community, memories that were erased by Helene. āWeāll never make sense of it. You know, itās our community and our town. I donāt know that itāll ever be the same.ā
Jesseās wife MeKenzie says, āI donāt know that itāll ever be the sameā¦Itās been that life-altering a situation.
āI havenāt been able to process it yet. It [doesnāt feel] new because it feels like itās been forever; I donāt even know what day it is,ā she adds.
Now, all that stands on the plot of land is an American flag that Jesse attached to a fallen tree branch.
Praising her husband for his courage in dealing with his massive loss since āHurricane HELL-ene,ā MaKenzie writes, ā[Jesse] raised this flag as high as he could in the home place he grew up in + one of the few places I have been able to call home for the past 6 years.ā