For many people in Western North Carolina, everything changed on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024.

Hurricane Helene brought record levels of rainfall, reaching as high as 30 inches in some places and triggering massive flooding and mudslides. Roads, buildings, trees, power lines and entire water systems were wiped out, affecting hundreds of thousands of people. More than 90 people died in North Carolina.

In this episode of The Charlotte Ledger Podcast, Ledger editor Tony Mecia talks with Ledger staff reporter Lindsey Banks about the storm and its aftermath. Banks is a Buncombe County native with close ties to Western North Carolina, and she spearheads The Ledger's Mountain Updates newsletter. The Ledger created it in September 2024 as a pop-up (temporary) newsletter focused on the crisis and recovery in the North Carolina mountains.

The two talk about her experience growing up in the mountains, what it was like seeing her hometown destroyed by the hurricane, what her friends and family have described in the aftermath and the experience of reporting and writing about the mountains.

All issues of Mountain Updates can be found online here. If you’re not on The Ledger’s email list, you can sign up for Mountain Updates and other newsletters at TheCharlotteLedger.com. Ledger subscribers can sign up for Mountain Updates on their account settings page.

This podcast was produced by Lindsey Banks.

For more information about The Charlotte Ledger, or to sign up for our newsletters, visit TheCharlotteLedger.com.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit charlotteledger.substack.com/subscribe