SWANNANOA, N.C. — Before Helene’s unrelenting rain triggered deadly landslides in the North Carolina mountains, people in several western counties had access to potentially life-saving information, but no one told them about it.
As WCNC Charlotte’s “Lost Ground” investigation revealed, the taxpayer-funded landslide mapping program has not always remained a priority for state lawmakers over the course of the last 20 years, but that’s only part of the problem.
State geologists had documented historic landslides in several counties and made those maps publicly available online in 2021. Some didn’t learn about the potentially life-saving resource until after North Carolina’s deadliest disaster.
“It’s extremely frustrating”
When Sylvan Williams bought his Swannanoa home in 2016, he never imagined the mountain behind his property would pose a risk. He and his neighbors in Grovemont learned that lesson the hard way during Helene. A husband and wife died as a result…