According to recent reports, a family in North Carolina lost 11 family members amid the destruction of Hurricane Helene after they were killed by a mudslide caused by the intense flooding in the region. The Craig family, who had lived in the area for decades, was devastated as their homes were in the direct path of a mudslide.
The Craig family had lived in Fairview, North Carolina, since the 1950s, having built a group of homes together referred to as “Craigtown.” However, some members of the Craig family had homes that sat right in the path of the deadly mudslide. “My mother and father, my aunt and uncle, my great aunt and uncle — I’ve lost cousins, second cousins, things like that, but 11 people overall from this mudslide,” said Jesse Craig.
“I haven’t been able to process it yet. It’s still — it’s not new because it feels like it’s been forever; I don’t even know what day it is,” according to Jesse’s wife MeKenzie. “We’ll never make sense of it. You know, it’s our community and our town. I don’t — I don’t know that it’ll ever be the same,” she noted. “It’s been that life-altering a situation.”
A GoFundMe has since been set up for the Craig family to support the surviving family members. So far, the fundraiser has received over $167,000 from approximately 1700 donations, as of writing this article, over halfway to its goal of raising $300,000. Prayers and support have poured in for the family that is still picking up the pieces.
“The Craig family and “Craigtown” community are absolutely floored at the outpouring of support from friends and strangers, alike. We cannot thank you enough for all of the donations (both great and small) because every single one is so meaningful,” the fundraiser’s description read. “As more information becomes available about updates within the family, I will graciously share with those of you who have offered support during this tragic time.”
The fundraiser continued, “In the meantime, I feel that it is important to respect the privacy of the surviving family, while also stressing the enormity of the financial obstacles that are ahead of them. And because of this, I have decided to double the goal of this fundraiser. Thank you again, and please share this story within your communities. The Craig family is still full of great people with servants hearts- let us all help the helpers in their time of despair.”
“The WNC area was devastated by Hurricane Helene on Friday, Sept 27, 2024. The Fairview community, just southeast of Asheville, was hit particularly hard,” the GoFundMe added. “Pillars of the community, the Craig family, suffered an unimaginable tragedy where 11 people in their family lost their lives and many more lost their homes in an area lovingly known as “Craigtown” due to a landslide that was triggered without warning by unprecedented rains.”
Watch a incident in which a helicopter accidentally damaged a North Carolina relief site with “rotor wash”:
