‘Feels good to be back’: Classes resume at Appalachian State following Helene

BOONE, N.C. — Wednesday was the second first day of school at Appalachian State University where 20,000 students returned to class weeks after Helene flooded downtown Boone as well as several buildings on campus.

The university says power has been restored and all the main roads have reopened in Boone.

Channel 9′s Dave Faherty was there and could also see a lot of repair work that’s still going on in the area, but the students he spoke to say they’re glad to be back.

They also say they’ll never forget their first semester thanks to Helene.

“Everything was pretty messed up,” said Juno Dicks. “Like there was no power, the wind was really strong. We were scavenging for food around campus.”

Since the storm hit, $2 million has been donated to the university. Over the last two and half weeks, more than 2,000 students, faculty, and staff have used the resource hub on campus to help with the recovery after some were flooded out of their apartments losing much of what they owned.

The school also provided 78,000 free meals to folks in the mountains who were impacted by the storm.

“It was kind of sad coming back into Boone and seeing all the devastation because this has become my home,” said Sophie Potts. “But it’s nice to see the community come together.”

The university says it does have additional housing on campus for students who were forced to move out because of flood damage. The students also give the university and Boone high marks for their response to the storm.

“I was seeing a lot of the damage and compared to what it is now it’s completely different,” said Benjamin Cole.

Anna Merritt says the university did a good job keeping students updated on everything going on. “It was very like, ‘This is what is happening, this is how it’s going to be handled, everyone be safe.’”

App State student Bella Coughlin was happy to be back on campus.

“It feels good to be back and to get in the routine of classes and to see all of my friends and everything,” she said. “It’s really great.”

VIDEO: High schoolers help clean up northwest Charlotte neighborhood after Helene

High schoolers help clean up northwest Charlotte neighborhood after Helene

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