The latest on the aftermath of Hurricane Helene | CNN

It had been 48 hours since the winds and rains from Hurricane Helene ripped through western North Carolina and Sam Perkins still had not heard from his parents.

So, on Saturday morning, he got in his vehicle and started driving toward their home, nestled on a mountain between Spruce Pine and Little Switzerland, to find them.

“My parents live in an absolute gem of the North Carolina mountains,” Perkins said in a post about about his experience. The area is about an hour’s drive from Asheville. “Under normal circumstances, it’s pleasantly very isolated,” he added, in a post about his experience.

“Little did I know that up there, Helene has demolished roads, homes and utility networks. This area is completely cut off from resources in every direction.”

At least 93 people are dead after Helene tore through the southeastern United States, according to CNN’s tally. North Carolina was hit hard: Days of unrelenting flooding have turned roads into waterways, left many stranded without basic necessities and strained state resources.

Gov. Roy Cooper called it “one of the worst storms in modern history.” While supplies have been deployed, at least 280 roads are still closed throughout the state, making it hard for officials to get them into areas in need, Cooper said.

When he realized how many roads were cut off, Perkins said he left his vehicle near a closed highway at the bottom of the mountain and started hiking to his parents’ home.

“I tried every road route I could, but the roads, no matter where you go, are blocked by landslides or failures,” Perkins explained to CNN. “I can’t tell you how many failing roads and deep mudslides I had to cross, how many fallen trees I had to take off my backpack for and navigate through.”

While hiking, Perkins said he ran into multiple people trapped due to the devastated highway. For more than three-and-half hours, Perkins said he hiked 11 miles and 2,200 feet high to finally reach his parents’ home.

“I have never been so relieved to see anyone OK,” Perkins told CNN, adding his parents are in their 70s, but pretty resourceful people.

“I just hugged them, cried, filled them in on all the news they were missing… Walked around the property, helped them decide how to approach some challenges.”

Read the full story.