North Carolina
‘It was really surreal’: North Carolina residents watched floods lift cars, buildings
Helene wiped out large parts of Asheville, North Carolina, including businesses in the beloved River Arts District.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — As Helene battered western North Carolina, residents in Asheville were heartbroken after seeing floodwaters lift cars, trucks, billboards, and homes.
Syd Yatteau, with her family members Erik and Lana Maystruk, were sheltering in place when the Swannanoa River reached about 26 feet at Biltmore Village on Friday. The next day, Yatteau walked through the mud and debris on South Tunnel Road, where the asphalt had upturned and a massive sinkhole had formed along the washed-out road.
Yattaeu recalled the rapidly rising river as it became a “giant moat” in front of their home, wiping away several houses in their subdivision. Even as the flood waters rose, creeping up the side of a hill and onto their driveway, she said they did not receive an evacuation order. The breadth of damage was unexpected.
“It was really surreal,” Yattaeu said of the rapid rise of the Swannanoa River. “Like, at the beginning it was all fun and games. Just watching the water be where it was.”
“And then it just kept going up,” she said.
Around 4 p.m. Friday, the Swannanoa River hit its peak at 26.1 feet, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. That’s five feet above the record set during the 1916 floods, which killed numerous people and demolished most of Asheville — including Biltmore Village.
The waters didn’t flood Yatteau’s home, but they reached a neighbor’s home just down the hill. Their neighbors came up and stayed with their family, Erik Maystruk said, then helped them sort through the ruins of their house the day after.
“We tried to go over to their house earlier in the morning today. Tried to salvage as much as we can,” Yatteau said.
Hurricanes on repeat: Natural disasters ‘don’t feel natural anymore’
River brings cars, groceries, houses past local road
Living just down the road from the grocery store Aldi, Yatteau, and the Maystruks watched as the water swept away food from the grocery store. Nearly a half-mile down the road, bags of chips, Snickers, and produce could be found pressed up against the side of the Wood Avenue Bridge.
Near that bridge, the emptied businesses were being picked over by families as they sought to find anything among the wreckage. Drone footage taken by Erik Maystruk showed more of the destructive flooding, including semi-trucks piling up as the river dragged them closer to Biltmore Village.
The day after the catastrophe, the trio made their way up Swannanoa River Road, past a destroyed Walgreens, Lowes Home Improvement, Goodwill, and U-Haul. Trekking through the mud, it took them about 20 to 30 minutes to make it the half mile to South Tunnel Road. While they were supplied with food, water supplies seemed uncertain.
“I don’t know about water, but we have a few freezers, so we might be okay,” Lana Maystruk said, noting that they did have a backup generator running at their house.
“We don’t expect to get power anytime soon,” Yatteau said.
Local businesses ‘completely destroyed’
Helene wiped out large parts of Asheville, including businesses in the beloved River Arts District. Overlooking the 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 damage caused by Helene.
The French Broad River crested at a record 24.67 feet on Friday and was still well above its banks at 12.68 feet on Sunday around noon, according to NOAA.
Bystanders continued to flock to the bridge and were overcome with a sense of serious awe, grief, and horror. Along Depot Street, a car sat empty in the middle of the road with its window open and child seats full of mud had been dragged away.
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,” she said, noting that only a few things, such as hairstyle tools, were salvageable. “A lot of it was underwater.”
Inside the salon, the flooding had caused parts of the walls to flake off, as her husband, Ted, bagged hair products and supplies while standing in a thick veil of mud.
“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.”
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-Times
North Carolina
UNC shortstop selected in first round of MLB Draft by Red Sox; list of NC players drafted
Four members of the North Carolina baseball team that finished second in the College World Series were selected in the first 100 picks of the Major League Baseball Draft, led by first-round selection Jake Schaffner.
Schaffner, a transfer from North Dakota State who batted .356 in 68 games (all starts) for UNC this season, was picked in the first round by the Boston Red Sox at No. 20 overall. Schaffner had a .467 on-base percentage and a .552 slugging percentage.
Major League Baseball assigns a slot value to each selection, though teams and players can negotiate to sign for more or less than that total. Each team has a bonus pool that it can use for its draft picks. The top pick is valued at more than $11.3 million. The No. 20 pick has a slot value of $4.37 million.
North Carolina reached the College World Series championship series, but lost in the final game of the best-of-three series to Oklahoma.
Outfielder Owen Hull, who transferred to the Tar Heels from George Mason, batted .393 with nine home runs in 69 games (all starts) for UNC, was also selected by the Red Sox at No. 67 overall. Hull slugged .615 and had a .500 on-base percentage during his lone season at UNC. The No. 67 pick has a slot value of $1.32 million.
Pitcher Jason DeCaro starred for three seasons for UNC, going 26-7 with a 3.46 ERA in 53 career starts. DeCaro was 11-3 for UNC this season in 97.1 innings. The Pittsburgh Pirates picked him at No. 80 overall in the third round and the pick has a slot value of $1.04 million.
Pitcher Ryan Lynch went 10-5 with two saves over 46 career appearances for the Tar Heels. The San Diego Padres picked Lynch at No. 97 overall in the third round, which has a slot value of $808,100.
NC State outfielder Ty Head, who had 12 home runs for the Wolfpack as a sophomore in 2026, was selected in the second round (No. 46 overall) by the Baltimore Orioles. Head batted .279 in 110 games (all starts) for NC State. He had 76 career runs batted in. The No. 46 pick has a slot value of $2.18 million.
NC State pitcher Jacob Dudan, who missed the second half of the 2026 season and underwent surgery on his elbow, was picked at No. 83 overall (fourth round) by the Athletics. Dudan went 10-5 with 11 saves over 57 appearances in three seasons for NC State. Dudan started eight games, the first starts of his college career, this season, pitching 50 innings. The No. 83 pick has a slot value of $988,700.
Later picks:
- East Carolina pitcher Ethan Norby selected No. 122 (fourth round) by Cincinnati Reds (slot value: $632,500)
- Wake Forest third baseman Kade Lewis selected No. 123 (fourth round) by Cleveland Guardians (slot value: $626,500)
- UNC-Wilmington third baseman Trevor Lucas selected No. 129 overall (fourth round) by Seattle Mariners (slot value: $591,700)
The North Carolina Forest Service and
area fire departments are responded to a large wildfire on Friday in the Shallotte area, according to
Brunswick County officials.
Smoke
from the fire may impact visibility in the area near Old Georgetown Road and Hale Swamp Road. Officials are asking
drivers to use caution when traveling nearby and to avoid the area if
possible to allow fire personnel and first responders to work safely.
According to the North Carolina Forest Service wildfire viewer, the fire has grown to approximately 300 acres and is 60% contained as of 11:20 p.m. Friday.
North Carolina
A 4-year-old boy’s simple habit of waving to his neighbors transformed his North Carolina community
CONCORD, North Carolina — Not many children crave connection more than 4-year-old Roman Butzlaff. If you pass by his house in Concord, North Carolina, he will surely greet you with a wave and a “hey.”
“He wakes up every day excited to say ‘hi’ to somebody, like, that’s the first thing he wants to do,” his mother, Anna Butzlaff, told CBS News.
And yet, she said that for the longest time, Roman’s cheeriness belied an inner loneliness. About a year ago, his parents broke up. His father moved to Florida, and his grandparents lived out of state as well.
But fortunately, all those seeds of kindness he had planted began to bloom. It started with Wade Fulgum, who lives across the street from Roman.
Fulgum went over to meet the boy who was always waving. They started doing things together. Eventually, other neighbors followed suit. They would stop and chat or even take part in activities such as drag racing down the street.
Anna Butzlaff said it was initially a bit strange because she barely knew any of these people.
“I didn’t really know how to take it,” she said. “I just saw that my son was happy.”
Which is why she went along with it when Roman then began inviting many different neighbors to his soccer games, basketball games and baseball games. Other neighbors came to his swimming lessons and even his preschool open house.
And when it came time for his birthday party, Anna Butzlaff knew the only people she needed to invite were his senior citizen neighbor friends.
“He loves having us there, and he’ll run up and hug us,” one neighbor said.
“They’ve made such an impact on him,” Anna Butzlaff said. “They are really special people to him.”
Today, the refrigerator is blanketed with pictures of all those people Roman holds so dear. His mother says his inner loneliness is gone.
And his “love thy neighbor” attitude is spreading. Roman has now brought together about a dozen neighbors who say they would have barely known each other if not for that little boy, who lived in a neighborhood but needed a village.
Said one neighbor: “Look at what this little kid has built.”
Added another: “If the world was like this child, what an awesome, awesome place it would be.”
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