As of Tuesday, reports show that Hurricane Helene has tragically claimed at least 135 lives.
Rescue teams are still searching for about 600 people who are missing, while stories of both survival and heartbreaking loss are beginning to emerge.
Jessica Drye Turner, a Texas resident, shared her family’s tragic experience on Facebook.
Turner initially posted a request for prayers for her sister, nephew, and parents, who were stranded on the roof of their house in Asheville, North Carolina. She described how her family waited for rescue, stuck with just the clothes they had on and one working phone.
In a heartbreaking update, which Turner received from a third party, she shared that her parents and nephew drowned, though her sister, Megan, survived by becoming trapped between “something” and was eventually rescued.
Later, after the initial shock, Turner provided another update on Facebook, sharing more details.
“Where’s Micah?” Megan yelled desperately.
Jessica wrote that in that moment, her sister saw something change in their mother. Megan felt that their mother “gave up” after losing Micah to the strong floodwaters.
“The look on my mother’s face was absolute horror and defeat,” Jessica wrote.
Megan looked up just in time to see the powerful current pull her son away from her.
“He was so scared. She heard him cry out, ‘Jesus! Please help me!’ And we believe that’s when he was taken.”
After witnessing her family swept away, Megan finally let go of the tree she had been clinging to. The rushing water carried her into a small space between two trailers, where she remained trapped for three hours until rescuers finally found her.
Micah’s body was found “a quarter mile from where they rescued Megan.”
My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected by Hurricane Helene. The destruction from this storm should serve as a wake-up call. Storms like this will keep getting worse if we don’t take serious steps to fight climate change.
