Hurricane Helene devastated communities across the Southwestern United States after it came ashore along Florida's Big Bend region as a powerful Category 4 storm.
In Asheville, North Carolina, at least 30 people have reportedly died due to the storm, raising the overall death toll to more than 80 people across several states.
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Photographer Stephan Pruitt is from Asheville and some of the images he captured in the aftermath of Helene tell a story about just how serious of an impact the storm had on his community.
"It's definitely, by far the worst thing we've ever had," Pruitt told Scripps News. "We were saying it was the worst one in 100 years, but they're saying the one that was in 1916 — that pretty much put Asheville under water — was 10 feet less than this one. So, it's pretty bad."
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper predicted the death toll will continue to rise as emergency workers reach areas devastated by flooding.
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In Asheville, Pruitt said that he believes many people may have underestimated the magnitude of Helene's impact.
"I think we were expecting something akin to the 2004, I believe it was Hurricane Ivan," he said. "We were expecting somewhere around 20 feet of water and we ended up getting 31 feet of water... so I mean, it's a once in 1,000-year flood."
You can watch our full interview with Stephan Pruitt and see some of the shocking footage he captured of Hurricane Helene's impact in the video player above.
