SWANNANOA, N.C. — Flattened homes, impassable roads, swamped fields, downed power lines, raw emotions.
Nearly a week after Hurricane Helene pummeled this small mountain town 20 miles east of Asheville, residents and business owners were trickling back Wednesday to see what was left and what could be salvaged.
Beverly and Baxter Eller barely escaped the floodwaters that reached eye level as they fled their home of 37 years and drove off in search of higher ground, uncertain if they would ever return.
When they did, they found their home surrounded by a knee-high moat of muddy water, the garage lifted from its foundation and spun around.
Beverly Eller, 68, who has been staying in shelters the last few days, said she was surprised by the extent of the damage.
“I don’t think anybody, including the government, thought this was what we were gonna get,” she said.
The Ellers retrieved what …