Western NC residents anxious as hurricane season begins amid Helene's lingering impact

As the official start of hurricane season approaches, many
in parts of the state have yet to fully recover from Hurricane Helene.

Some people in western North Carolina told WRAL, the thought
of another hurricane hitting the area is scary.

“At this point, even heavy rain coming through the area
people get extremely high PTSD and anxiety symptoms when the water is rising
again,” said Wendy Vanoy.

Vanoy lives in western North Carolina. She said Helene completely
changed the area, and now they don’t know what to expect.

“It’s so stressful now because all of the riverbanks have
changed and we don’t know how far the water will come now,” Vanoy said.

WRAL spoke with WRAL Meteorologist Mike Maze who said some
things are already popping up on the radar. 

“We’re already seeing in some models potential for something
to develop in the western Caribbean next week, the first week of hurricane
season,” Maze said. “So that’s something that we’re going to want to keep our
eyes on.”

According to Vannoy, western North Carolina is years away
from a full recovery and the area is far from prepared for another storm.

“I don’t know what Ashe County will do because we haven’t
gotten everything up and running in Lansing again,” Vannoy said. “The grocery
store still isn’t up and running in Lansing.”

Meteorologist Mike Maze said he understands the
concern, and luckily the chances of another severe storm hitting the
region are low. 

“Just because Helene hit North Carolina last year doesn’t
mean we’re going to have a repeat this year,” Maze said. “I know folks are
going to be very, very sensitive when they see a hurricane coming towards the
area. The likelihood of something like that happening again this year would not
be all that great.”

Vannoy said there is a lot to be done in western North
Carolina, and they could still use the help.

As far this hurricane season goes, keep an eye on WRAL both
online and on-air to stay updated on storm coverage.