Rick’s Story
When Helene tore through WNC, Rick and his wife watched helplessly as trees crashed around their home. When one slammed onto the roof, Rick stepped onto the back deck to get a better look, just in time to see the mountainside behind them give way.
“I was frozen watching it, like a deer caught in headlights,” he said.
A mass of trees, rocks, and mud surged toward their home and small retaining wall. Rick feared it would sweep the house, and them with it, down the mountain. Thankfully the wall held, diverting the mudslide into the side yard and down the bank.
The United States Geological Survey estimates that Helene triggered about 2,000 landslides across our region, some causing fatalities.
Rick contacted FEMA and worked for months to receive only a fraction of what was needed to build a larger wall to protect them from future slides and storms. Their appeals were all denied.
Pisgah Legal Services Attorney Kate Merlin won their appeal and the funds they needed.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Rick said. “There is no way we would have gotten through this mess without Pisgah’s help.”
Watch a video featuring Rick here.