Note: These stories are a series of profiles accompanying the WRAL documentary leading up to the premiere of “Helene: What We Lost, What We Found,” a powerful new investigative documentary examining the devastation and resilience that followed Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina. Watch the documentary beginning Thursday, Sept. 25, on WRAL-TV and everywhere you stream on WRAL.

By the time the evacuation notice came, Michael Burgin said it was already too late.

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“The water was like halfway up the car. So it didn't seem like leaving was an option,” said Burgin.

Burgin lives in Swannanoa’s Beacon Village. When Helene hit, he considered leaving, but decided to stay put, believing the chances of the Swannanoa River reaching the home he shares with his wife and

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