A heartbreaking final photo of North Carolina grandparents waiting to be rescued from the roof of their home while surrounded by fierce floodwaters has emerged following the devastation left by Hurricane Helene.
Jessica Drye Turner — who was hundreds of miles away in Texas — had begged for someone to save her family members after they became stranded on top of their Asheville home and were “watching 18-wheelers and cars floating by” as they waited for help, she wrote on Facebook as the storm ravaged the area Friday.
But help did not arrive in time. Turner later revealed that the roof where her loved ones were sheltering collapsed — and her parents and 7-year-old nephew Micah were washed away and drowned in the flood waters.
The death toll from Hurricane Helene and its remnants is at least 133 people — including 40 in Buncombe County, where Asheville is located.
In her plea for help, Turner posted a photo taken by her sister, Megan Drye — who was trapped along with their parents, who were in their 70s, and little Micah.
The gut-wrenching images shows the couple huddled together, with her mother in a coat and surrounded by blankets, as the floodwater was only steps away from the base of the roof.
“They’ve called 911 but they aren’t the only ones needing rescue. This is definitely a moment when faith is all you have,” Turner wrote on Friday.
Her sister, Megan, was saved when she became wedged in debris and was not washed away. She was rescued about an hour later.
“I cannot convey in words the sorrow, heartbreak and devastation my sisters and I are going through nor imagine the pain before us,” she wrote.
“Please lift my sister who lost her son up in prayers and my other sister and myself as we come together to somehow comfort her and get through each moment banded together.”
Turner revealed that she and her other sister, Heather, raced to Asheville overnight to be with their sister, adding they disregarded the warning that travel was “prohibited in Western North Carolina.”
“If we had listened instead of [being] willing to do anything to get there, Megan would still be in one of the loneliest situations ever,” she wrote.
On Monday, Turner then posted another heart-rending update that her 7-year-old nephew’s body was found about a quarter-mile from where his mom was rescued.
“That was and still is a gut wrenching moment. First hearing that. He was such a perfect little boy. He wanted to be a superhero. And now he is,” she wrote.
“If his and my parents deaths lead many to Christ, then their deaths were worth it. I will praise the goodness of God when he takes death to lead others into new life. The last thing Micah yelled before he was taken was, ‘Jesus! Please help me!’”
A GoFundMe page has been started to help Megan after the loss of her son.
Helene’s devastation wreaked deadly destruction across the northeast — being blamed for fatalities in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia after making landfall late Thursday.
And officials expect the death toll to continue to rise as flood waters recede and rescue crews reach remote areas.
However, officials expect the death toll to rise once rescue teams reach isolated towns and telecommunications are restored.
“There are a lot of people hurting,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper told MSNBC on Monday night.
“When you don’t have power, when you don’t have cellphone service, when you don’t have water, this is a catastrophic situation for you.”
He added that “some of our communities are completely wiped out.”
Cooper said the state is coordinating 92 search and rescue teams from 20 states and the federal government, with most efforts being sent to the western part of North Carolina.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said at least 25 people in his state had died on Monday, and South Carolina reported at least 29 dead.
With Post wires
