BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C. — Nine months after Hurricane Helene ripped through western North Carolina, an invisible threat is quietly spreading: mold flourishing inside flood-soaked homes and public buildings, Duke University researchers warn.
Duke’s newly formed Climate and Fungi, or CLIF, team swabbed dozens of structures in January to learn why some residents reported headaches, coughing and fatigue long after the floodwaters receded.
CLIF co-founder Asiya Gusa said the group collected hundreds of samples from cleaned and untouched sites in Black Mountain and surrounding communities…