In a few moments, a north carolina A man’s life was turned upside down when massive flooding from Hurricane Helen took the life of his wife, leaving him and their four children behind.
“All of a sudden, I heard something. Sounded like an explosion. And my wife and I ran inside the house and the back door burst,” Jamie Guinn told Fox News Digital in a phone interview. “So I ran to the garage to get something to close the garage and our garage disappeared.”
On Friday, September 27, Guinn was sheltering inside their Minneapolis, North Carolina home with his wife, Melissa, and their 8-year-old son, River, when chaos broke out. Guinn said his home overlooks the river and he spent the morning monitoring it Everything fell down.
Guinn continued, “It felt like a cannon going off. All I remember is that I was crushed as houses collapsed all around me.” “And I remember screaming for my little boy, and I could hear him screaming. And somehow, we dug up the house where he was almost collapsed and fell into the river and I found him.”
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A North Carolina man is recovering after he said flooding caused by Hurricane Helene took the life of his wife over the weekend. (Elizabeth Hensley Facebook)
Guinn said he was able to rescue his son and saw his wife sitting on top of their house, and that was the last time he saw her alive.
“And my wife was still up where the house was. And she yelled at me, ‘Babe, be careful!’ And so I tried to grab my little boy and throw him on my back because I thought it was another slide, and by the time I turned around to try to alert myself… she was gone. ,” Guinn said, crying.
“So I went screaming and yelling for him, and I couldn’t find my little boy. He turned back, and he said to me, ‘Dad, I think Mommy’s gone,'” Guinn described. “So we kept screaming and yelling for him and no one could find him. And at that time, I don’t even remember if any part of the house was left or that he was gone. Everything was a blur.”
Hurricane Helen: North Carolina residents struggle for survival as basic goods become scarce
Jamie Guinn, a father of four, lost his wife, Melissa, after she was swept from their home in North Carolina in flooding caused by Hurricane Helene. (Elizabeth Hensley Facebook)
Guinn and her son were able to take shelter in a nearby neighbor’s house. Guinn said spine fractured And there was a wound on his head that got infected but there was no pain worse than losing Melissa.
“She was my best friend. I really don’t know how I would have made it without her. We spent every day together. Everything I did, she was just as involved as everyone else,” Guinn. “From having that person in your life every day to having them gone in the blink of an eye, it shows how often you can take being with someone for granted.”
Guinn said that he and Melissa had been together for 17 years and were just weeks away from celebrating their 10-year wedding anniversary. He said he proposed around Halloween, and they always exchanged small gifts every year.
Jamie Guinn lost his wife of nearly 10 years on Saturday when Hurricane Helene flooded the area. (Elizabeth Hensley Facebook)
“We always say During the day I love you, which we have done continuously, sincerely. And every time I would always write back, ‘Love you more,’ so this year, I gave her a little plaque, and it really sums up a lot of what it means,” Ginn said. “She was absolutely the greatest mother and wife we could all ask for.”
Guinn said he still couldn’t believe the impact Helen had on his community, which no one had ever seen coming.
“How much the river water increased It was simply immense. It is difficult to put into words what it was like. This is something that should not happen here. That doesn’t happen here,” Guinn said. “We don’t know where, I don’t even know where we start picking up the pieces after this.”
Despite all the heartache and devastation, Guinn said it’s been amazing to watch community come together For each other through this tragedy.
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“As much as I hate to say it, I think our community is stronger than I’ve ever seen it. Everyone has always been here for each other, but at this level, it absolutely blows my mind Of how much everyone has stepped up, Guinn said, “Helping us and everyone around them is just…overwhelming, I don’t even know how to explain it.”
A GoFundMe page has been created by Guinn’s friends and family to help with medical expenses and other financial burdens.
hurricane helen At least 232 people died as the storm struck the Southeast, including 72 in Buncombe County. Hundreds of people are still unaccounted for in the wake of the deadliest US hurricane since Katrina in 2005.
