Story of survival: ‘I went under and just the current got me,’ woman says

By ANDREW JAMES | WLOS Staff

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    CRUSO, N.C. (WLOS) — A Haywood County woman survived after being swept away by floodwaters last week.

Michelle Rice’s home off U.S. 276 in Cruso took a direct hit from flooding from Tropical Storm Fred. While she was trying to get to higher ground with her dog, Rice was carried away in the flood.

“All these people that’s missing and it could’ve been me. I just got lucky,” Rice said.

The flooding at Rice’s home was more than 5 feet high. She tried to grab onto a piece of wood floating in the water before she was swept away.

“I was trying to hold onto it, and it flipped over and it was a picnic table. I went down and I went under and just the current got me,” she said.

Miraculously, she survived with only scratches and bruises.

“I know we can rebuild and come back from this if we get the resources needed,” Canton Mayor Zeb Smathers said.

Local leaders are working to get resources for people who need them most. Smathers said FEMA assessments are already underway, and he hopes federal assistance will soon follow.

“The needs of our citizens are just as important as anywhere else in the United States, and we will do whatever is necessary to make sure that they realize the absolute need for these resources,” Smathers said.

Smathers believes officials should have a better idea about what resources could be headed to Western North Carolina by early next week.

In the meantime, nonprofit Helping Haywood is responding to the hardest-hit areas with supplies and other resources. In less than a week, the nonprofit has raised close to $100,000.

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