‘Coming up through the floors’: App State students rescued from floodwaters

WATAUGA COUNTY, N.C. — A terrifying new video shows a mudslide tearing down a mountainside before slamming into a family’s home near Boone. It happened as Helene ravaged the Southeast, causing severe flooding in North Carolina.

No one was hurt, but the home and garage were badly damaged. Three cars were totaled and one landed on a roof.

In another part of Watauga County, Channel 9′s Dave Faherty could see how high Howard Creek got, as well as the debris left behind by the flooding.

Nearby, several homes, including one with Appalachian State University students in it, flooded. A swift water rescue team got them out.

Now, the students are looking for somewhere else to stay. Their home north of campus along Highway 194 is a muddy mess. They shared cellphone video as the water rose several feet inside and also captured the swift water rescue team that came to get them out.

“It started coming up through the floors and the windows and through everything,” Connor Riddle said. “We went upstairs and then we called 911.″

“It’s just devastating,” Spencer Reynolds said. “It’s going to take Boone and everyone so long to recover.”

Search and rescue teams continued across Watauga County Monday in what’s being described as the worst flooding ever.

More than 50 miles away, homes along the Catawba River were swept off their foundation in Burke County.

Eighty-one-year-old Jimmy Morgan built his house. It is still standing but is no longer livable after the water rose 15 feet, destroying much of what he owned.

“It’s just unbelievable to be 81 and — we spent 48 years putting this together and it’s going to take three years to clean it up,” Morgan said.

In the Meat Camp community north of Boone, road crews are making repairs to some of the roads. But even the North Carolina Department of Transportation district office flooded and is not longer usable.

(WATCH BELOW: Volunteers in Hickory use their helicopters to fly supplies to Helene victims)

Volunteers in Hickory use their helicopters to fly supplies to Helene victims

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