After Years of Covering Climate Change in N.C., a Photographer Sees His Town Destroyed

After years of documenting the effects of climate change in his home state of North Carolina, a photographer found himself in the path of a hurricane.

Capturing a Community in Ruin

After years of documenting the effects of climate change in his home state of North Carolina, a photographer found himself in the path of a hurricane.

It was 4 a.m. and my wife and I lay awake as the rain hammered our metal roof. The trees silhouetted against the night sky whipped violently back and forth.

“It’s too much rain,” I kept thinking to myself. Our house was surrounded by large trees on all sides. We were fixated on the reality that at any moment, one of those trees could come crashing through the roof.

By late morning, as the winds and rain subsided, so did my anxiety. But not for long.

I’ve lived in the Asheville region of North Carolina my entire life, and I moved to Swannanoa, a small town just 11 miles east of downtown Asheville, nine years ago. I have been photographing for The New York Times for over 15 years and have covered the effects of climate change in North Carolina in the past.

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Houses along the Swannanoa River were wiped out. ImageFloodwaters in Swannanoa subsided quickly, but many homes were still under water a day after the storm. ImageGoods were distributed to residents of Swannanoa.

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