Swept away and saved: An Avery County father’s harrowing escape from Helene’s fury

NORTH CAROLINA (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — When Hurricane Helene struck western North Carolina last year, Zack Johnson was alone.

His wife, Casi, and their children were hundreds of miles away in Charleston, meeting their newborn niece, lovingly referred to as their “angel baby.”

As the storm rolled in, Zack stayed behind at their home in Avery County. He started sending his wife photos and videos as the rain came down and the floodwaters rose.

“It’s going to be scary here tonight,” he texted.

He wasn’t wrong.

Casi Johnson recalled,

“And I told him I was like, all right, we’re heading back. And he said, ‘No, don’t… maybe just stay at your dad’s house.’”

That decision may have saved their lives. Casi and the kids stayed in Rock Hill. But Zack was soon in trouble.

“He had called, and he said, ‘It’s getting really bad. I think I need to get on the roof.’”

And then… silence.

“Awful, awful,” Casi remembered. “Asking if I had talked to dad — ‘Not yet, not yet.’”

Days passed.

Then came the call.

“I just started crying and my stepmom was like, ‘What’s happening?’”
“I got hold of her and she was just bawling, crying on the other end,” Zack added.

Zack survived — but just barely.

“I was scared for my life, I really was.”

As the water rose higher, he called 911.

“I wasn’t expecting them to save me, but you know — hey, there might be a body here.”

He found brief safety at the kitchen island.

“This is where the island was, so you’d be able to see how my viewpoint was.”

But Helene didn’t let up.

“At its highest point, the water was easily up to this…”

So Zack turned to faith.

“I was sitting on the island reading scripture out loud, as loud as I could read it.”

But faith didn’t stop the flood from sweeping away nearby livestock.

“We had some cows and a bull and a calf, and I saw them get flushed away, and I’m like — oh crap!”

When he tried to get to the roof, the current pinned him against the deck railing. He managed to shimmy up the banister and grab onto the gutter — but it snapped.

Zack was thrown into the raging floodwaters.

“The rapids were so strong, I had to take a breath and go under the water.”

By some miracle, he clung to a piece of the porch, dragged himself back inside, and climbed back to the island.

He stayed there, trapped, until the water finally receded.

“I opened the door, I was like — I survived! I was pumped, man.”

He survived — but everything changed.

“It was sweet and sad,” he said.

When Zack brought his family home, the devastation was overwhelming.

“There was all kinds of debris on the bridge… the road was completely gone. Like our road. The Clyde Johnson Road had been swallowed up.”

Their house had shifted 4 to 5 inches off its foundation. But through all the chaos, one thing held strong: their faith.

“I was definitely being looked after that day,” Zack said. “And I’m more appreciative. I was very thankful to see my family again.”

They managed to salvage a few memories — pictures, handwritten notes — dried out one by one.

“God is in control and His plans are greater.”