KANSAS CITY, Mo. — On Thursday, Holly LeGros departed from Asheville, North Carolina, on a plane she described as being filled with crying passengers as they witnessed Hurricane Helene's aftermath from the air.
Her destination was Kansas City, Missouri, where her daughter, Danielle LeGros, lives.
"I couldn't stay in the conditions I was in," Holly LeGros said. "My house was OK, but without running water and internet so I could work, and things like that, it was time to get me out."
Holly LeGros said her artsy, mountainous neighborhood was mostly impacted by downed trees and power lines.
"We were trapped because of debris and power lines all down," she said.
Holly LeGros said the storm unleashed upon her neighborhood for about four hours on the morning of Friday, Sept. 27.
"I’m from the Midwest, so I’ve lived through tornadoes and that, but you have to imagine a tornado that doesn’t stop; that sound, that wind, that noise, that fear," Holly LeGros, who is originally from Nebraska, said.
Because of the conditions, Holly LeGros and her neighbors trekked about 5 miles to find cellular service on the evening of Saturday, Sept. 28.
It was then that Holly LeGros was able to communicate with her family and let them know she was alive.
"I could hear the fear in her voice, and then I just felt very helpless," Danielle LeGros said.
But, Holly LeGros said her neighbors leaned on each other. In the aftermath, they congregated at a neighbor's house.
There, they had a generator and a sense of community.
Under the stars, her neighboring musicians would gather and play their instruments and sing.
"Under the stars, lay in the grass, and just full us with hope and healing and that community of being together," Holly LeGros said.
In the meantime, Danielle LeGros organized a GoFundMe to get her mom to safety in Kansas City. The two say they've had issues getting those funds due to an old PayPal account associated with the GoFundMe.
Still, they managed to get Holly LeGros to Kansas City, and Danielle LeGros' friend has offered her flight miles to get Holly LeGros back, whenever that time comes.
"I just collapsed in her arms," Holly LeGros said of her daughter. "It just felt so good to be here and on dry land.”
Holly LeGros continued, "Then there’s this overwhelming feeling of guilt for leaving."
Holly LeGros said access to drinking water is a main concern for Asheville residents.
Due to flooding, Asheville's water system is damaged, and officials say it could take weeks to repair.
"People don't understand, when you have no cell service, no internet, but with no running water, what starts to happen and the desperation," Holly LeGros said.
Many of Holly LeGros' friends remain in Asheville, and someone she knows is unaccounted for in the aftermath.
"They haven’t been found dead or alive, so we just keep hoping and praying," she said. "We can’t let this country forget and move on and leave Asheville behind."
Holly LeGros said in the coming month, temperatures will drop in the mountains as winter approaches.
She said many people lost their winter gear in the floods. She said BeLoved Asheville, a local nonprofit, is working to help victims secure housing and winter apparel before the cold hits.
Holly LeGros said she is taking it day by day, and she does not know when she'll return to Asheville, but for now, she's cherishing time with her family.
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KSHB 41 reporter Lily O’Shea Becker covers Franklin and Douglas counties in Kansas. Share your story idea with Lily.