The election in the United States could be affected

Hurricane Helene caused severe flooding here in Asheville, North Carolina.

Look carefully at the picture: it is as far as can be seen that there has been a house in front of the white warehouse. Three people died.

Recently, people gathered to remember the dead. Can the storm decide the presidential election?

Asheville, North Carolina: Darkness settled over the square outside the town hall. A month earlier, Hurricane Helene had spread death and destruction here in Asheville and surrounding areas.

Heavy rains caused a 500-year flood in North Carolina. Near the rivers, the water stood over the roofs of the houses. Many of them were out of luck.

On Tuesday last week, the city and county gathered people for a memorial service. Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer said they weren’t sure if anyone would show up. Several thousand came.

The lit candles will “turn darkness into light” and “light into warmth,” said county politician Jasmine Beach-Ferrara. But the hurricane is also followed by a political storm. Can Donald Trump take it down?

“There are many kinds of heroes”

It was an emotional meeting. The speakers thanked rescuers and ordinary citizens for their mutual efforts. Fire chief Michael Cayse received the biggest compliment of the night.

– There are many kinds of heroes, he said. – Neighbors and strangers have supported each other.

Almost a month after the disaster, the cleanup work was still going on. Neighbors near the rivers were completely destroyed by the flood.

A controversial topic in the United States

Asheville is located in a mountain range, 400 kilometers from the coast. The town is even further away from Florida, where “Helene” first landed. Nevertheless, the area was affected.

– We thought we were free from the hurricane, hidden as we are behind the mountains. Nature has shown us that this is not true, said county politician Al Whitesides during the memorial service.

Global warming is a controversial topic in the United States. The experts say that warmer water in the Gulf of Mexico leads to more hurricanes.

– We can no longer believe that we are free from the effects of global warming, said Reverend Jim Abbott.

“Bizarre” Misinformation on the Web

The hurricane had barely left before presidential candidate Donald Trump stepped forward and accused the authorities of failing to handle the disaster.

The federal disaster agency FEMA had no money left because his rival Kamala Harris had given the money to illegal immigrants, Trump said.

American authorities and the media have opposed Trump’s claims, but it is repeated nevertheless.

– Donald Trump is very irresponsible, says Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer.

Esther Manheimer

There were claims online that “they” – by which I mean the Democratic government – had directed the hurricane to areas where many Republican voters live.

Claims were raised by major Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, despite experts saying it is impossible.

Unsubstantiated claims that neighborhoods were being affected so lithium could be mined for electric cars, distributed to millions of people online.

– Some people spread the strangest things on social media, and our own political leaders feed on it. It can be very challenging, says Manheimer.

But could the storm have political consequences?

– In some places the roads were destroyed, so it may be difficult for someone to get to a polling station, explained Manheimer.

– Can what happened and what was said afterwards influence someone’s opinion?

– It’s hard to say. I think most people have already made up their minds. But maybe someone will stay at home instead of voting, replied the mayor.

The River Arts District in Asheville was completely destroyed.

A vital artistic environment was adversely affected.

It became a business that restores old cars.

The “heart” of Asheville is gone

It could take months and years for western North Carolina to recover from the hurricane. Along the French Broad River, which flows through Asheville, many businesses have sustained significant damage.

The River Arts District, which was home to a former industrial area, has been completely destroyed.

– The artists have been at the heart of Asheville, and they lived in the River Arts District, says Taylon Breeden. She is a politician, activist and owner of the Pot Stirred cafe, which was located in the River Arts District.

Taylon Breeden is upset that a mountain of trash was dumped near a poor neighborhood on the outskirts of Asheville.

The mayor says the trash shouldn’t be dumped there. But she could not say when it will be removed.

He escaped at the last moment

The future is uncertain for Taylon Breeden and many others who have lived or worked in Asheville. Very few of them had flood insurance.

This also applies to people whose homes were destroyed.

The flood of the Swannanoa River caused great destruction.

Catherine Wood lives in Beacon Village. There, 24 houses were flooded by the flood.

The residents do not know if their houses can be saved.

– My husband realized that this could be worse than what was reported, so we fled in the middle of the night, says Catherine Wood. Others in the community fled to the roofs.

– Someone had to be rescued from the attic. They cut through the roof to get to them, she says.

We meet her as she and her husband clean the house.

– We don’t know if the house can be saved. They say they were raised strong, so we have hope.

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