Hurricane Helene dealt Asheville’s historic River Arts District a heavy blow, with an estimated 80 percent of its buildings damaged by a record wall of water from the French Broad River.
When the river rose to 24.67 feet, it instantly took works of art, studios, and the incomes of hundreds of artists involved in painting, photography, pottery, glassblowing, glass and metal work, sculpture, and printmaking.
The once-lively North Carolina neighborhood is still busy, but not with customers or tourists. Rather, it is volunteers, artists and business owners cleaning up the toxic, muddy mess left behind.
One businesswoman handed out a protective mask warning that the area was unsafe as the mud was a mixture of chemicals, excrement, and other unpleasant substances.
Asked if she would reopen her business, her answer was a decisive “no.”
People posting to Facebook have labeled the catastrophic event as “painful,” “depressing,” and “sad” and have said they are “heartbroken.”
The flooding caused by Hurricane Helene severely damaged the River Arts District of Asheville, N.C. Photo taken on Oct. 3, 2024. Richard Moore/The Epoch Times
A mud-covered person pictured while cleaning up in Asheville's River Arts District on Oct. 4, 2024. Richard Moore/The Epoch Times
Wreckage in front of a building in Asheville's River Arts District on Oct. 4, 2024. Richard Moore/The Epoch Times
A trailer unit in Asheville's River Arts District on Oct. 4, 2024. Richard Moore/The Epoch Times
The French Broad River flowed through the River Arts District in Asheville at a record height of 24.67 feet. Photo taken on Oct. 4, 2024. Richard Moore/The Epoch Times
People take a break while cleaning up the destruction left by the French Broad River in the River Arts District of Asheville, N.C. Photo taken on Oct. 4, 2024. Richard Moore/The Epoch Times
The French Broad River flowed through the River Arts District in Asheville at a record height of 24.67 feet. Photo taken on Oct. 4, 2024. Richard Moore/The Epoch Times
A truck's overturned trailer unit in the River Arts District in Asheville, N.C. Photo taken on Oct. 4, 2024. Richard Moore/The Epoch Times
The French Broad River flowed through the River Arts District in Asheville at a record height of 24.67 feet. Photo taken on Oct. 4, 2024. Richard Moore/The Epoch Times
An estimated 80 percent of the buildings in the River Arts District in Asheville were damaged in the flood. Photo taken on Oct. 4, 2024. Richard Moore/The Epoch Times
Mud-covered belongings from a studio in the River Arts District of Asheville. Photo taken on Oct. 4, 2024. Richard Moore/The Epoch Times
A worker in the River Arts District of Asheville on Oct. 4, 2024. Richard Moore/The Epoch Times
An abandoned car near the River Arts District of Asheville on Oct. 4, 2024. Richard Moore/The Epoch Times
Mud-ruined dresses on racks outside a clothing business in the River Arts District of Ashville, N.C., on Oct. 5, 2024. Richard Moore/The Epoch Times
