Photo story by Chrissy Wang
The entrance to Triple C Campground in Marion, N.C., surrounded by debris and caution tape on Oct. 8, 2024, after Hurricane Helene caused severe flooding. On the morning of Sept. 27, 2024, floodwaters swept down from the mountains, carrying away cars and flooding homes, forcing residents to escape through windows.
Charlie Gowan stands in front of a house at Triple C Campground in Marion, N.C., on Oct. 8, 2024. The campground, set to celebrate its 50th anniversary next year, is now buried under mud and fallen trees after Hurricane Helene. Gowan grew up playing by the creek and later worked at the campground after getting married. He now faces the damage left by the storm. The floodwaters lifted the house off its foundation and shifted it 20 feet.
A house at Triple C Campground in Marion, N.C., shows water stains from the floodwaters of Hurricane Helene. As water rushed in, the Gowan family escaped through a back window and climbed a hill. Pat and Charlie Gowan said it was confusing at first, but then they realized none of the decisions they were trying to make mattered—they just had to keep moving.
The interior of a house at Triple C Campground in Marion, N.C., on Oct. 8, 2024. Insulation and debris is scattered across the floor after Hurricane Helene swept through. Floodwaters left the space heavily damaged, with mud covering the ground. Parts of the ceiling collapsed.
Pat Gowan holds a poster of her son, Joseph Gowan, from the 2023 BASS Western North Carolina High School and Junior Series, covered in mud following Hurricane Helene, at the flood-ravaged Triple C Campground in Marion, N.C., on Oct. 8, 2024.
Pat Gowan searches through debris at Triple C Campground in Marion, N.C., on Oct. 8, 2024, trying to find her belongings lost during Hurricane Helene. Here she picks up a necklace. She hopes to find her wedding ring, which was swept away during the hurricane.
A mud-stained photo of Pat and Charlie Gowan from their younger years, found among the debris at Triple C Campground in Marion, N.C., on Oct. 8, 2024.
A damaged electrical meter hangs loose from the cracked exterior of a building at Triple C Campground in Marion, N.C., on Oct. 8, 2024. The Gowan family estimates that restoring power, water lines, and a sewer system will cost millions of dollars.
Pat and Charlie Gowan outside their damaged home at Triple C Campground in Marion, N.C., on Oct. 8, 2024. The campground was their retirement plan, but now it’s gone. Despite losing nearly everything to Hurricane Helene, they remain connected to the community that has rallied around them. The Gowans have set up a GoFundMe, which has raised $25,728 so far. They say if they get the right help, they’ll rebuild. If not, they’ll go to plan B—whatever that might be.
The GoFundMe link for the Gowans
