Asheville, North Carolina —A North Carolina mother watched in horror as her 7-year-old son Micah and 73-year-old parents were swept away by floodwaters as the family sought refuge on their roof from Hurricane Helene’s devastating impact.
“We were up there, and we still had faith. The water had reached the second floor, and we thought that we were safe up there. I called 911 but they were busy with other catastrophes,” shared Megan Drye.
Drye and her family waited for two hours for help before the muddy, debris-filled water pulled away half of her home. She carried her son to the highest point of what was left of the roof. But once part of the house detached, Drye said they ran into power lines and trees, which knocked them into the fast-moving water.
“That’s when I went under, and I lost sight of my mom and my son… I could hear them screaming,” Drye described. “My father was trying to fight for his life. My son was seven and didn’t know how to swim. My dad grabbed a branch and was holding on, but the last thing I heard from my son was he was screaming for Jesus to save him. Those were the last words I heard out of my son’s mouth.”
The current pulled Drye violently away from her family.
“I continued to look for them, but I heard nothing. I kept going under water until I got trapped by a tree. I was safe there because I could breathe.”
Drye eventually let go off the tree, careening toward two large storage facilities where she waited for two hours until a man helped her.
“I did not think I would survive. But I do believe my sister Jessica who had started a prayer rotation kept me alive. And that it what lifted me because I didn’t have it in me. I wanted to die after seeing my son die."
Considered one of the deadliest storms in U.S. history, Helene's death toll surpassed more than 150 people Tuesday afternoon.
Annie Gimbel
