Burke County couple returns home after Helene floodwaters devastate property

BURKE COUNTY, N.C. — A couple in Burke County has returned to their home for the first time since it was flooded during Hurricane Helene.

Jim and Libby Morgan’s home, located along the Catawba River west of Morganton, was submerged when the storm hit, with floodwaters rising more than 30 feet and filling the entire first floor to the ceiling.

“The water was 9 feet above your feet. It was 11 feet on the house,” Jim Morgan said. “It was into the second story.”

The Morgans have owned their home for nearly 50 years, and the flood destroyed much of the interior, bringing down insulation and destroying their belongings.

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Just 48 hours after the water receded last September, Jim Morgan showed Channel 9’s Dave Faherty the damage to his home.

But Morgan says he wasn’t alone. He worked tirelessly alongside 125 volunteers from other states to rebuild his home.

“The volunteers helped me redefine family and community,” Jim Morgan said.

Over the next 8 1/2 months, the 82-year-old says he worked 70 hours a week to rebuild what they lost. Everything from the walls to the floors were torn out and replaced. They also had to get new furniture.

“We just moved back on Friday but once I got back in the house it’s almost like I never left,” Libby Morgan said.

The couple expressed gratitude to the volunteers, including those from Samaritans Purse, who came from across the country to assist in the salvage and rebuilding efforts.

“I thank the many brothers and few sisters that I also gained in this process. I have five brothers in Oklahoma I never knew before,” Jim Morgan said. “They showed up repeatedly and so I have a much larger family now.”

On Eyewitness News at 5, Dave Faherty will walk through the rebuild almost a year after Helene.

VIDEO: NCDOT continues to rebuild western NC roads, bridges nearly a year after Helene