Floyd company provides housing to a family in North Carolina following Hurricane Helene

Floyd, Virginia – As towns still struggle to deal with Hurricane Helene’s effects, one Asheville family is seeking safety in one of our hometowns.

Miles Kexel, the son, said, “It’s bad enough seeing it in the form of a video when we went out of our neighborhood for the first time, but it’s even worse when you’re seeing it in real life.”

Asheville, North Carolina, one of the hardest-hit areas by Hurricane Helene, is home to the Kexel family.

Dad Torin Kexel stated, “It was so much bigger than we had expected and there wasn’t a lot of warning.”

The Flying Bike, the family’s company, was lost. This company offers electric bike tours and rentals in the Asheville area. The structure was fully buried in water.

Miles stated, “The watermark is almost to the second floor.”

After more than a week, their house is still unlivable because there is no water or electricity.

According to Torin, “The first three days were really scary.” Cell service was not available. Other than what we could hear on the radio, there was no way for us to even know what was happening in the city. We were unable to evacuate because the trees had brought down powerlines throughout our area.

They eventually managed to travel to Floyd, Virginia, once a sufficient portion of the road was cleared. The Book House was there, ready to welcome them with open arms.

Leah Cantrell, a co-owner of The Book House, stated, “Our mission is to be a home for the literary arts, for our community, and be a place to build community and be hospitable.” Thus, “opening this up and turning it into a real home made sense.”

There was no hesitancy in making the offer.

Mom Alice Kexel remarked, “My friend Leah is a friend from childhood.” “Therefore, having the option to relocate somewhere with community and support seemed like a natural choice.”

The Kexel family faces an unclear return date due to the estimated weeks needed to fix Asheville’s water infrastructure.

“We are aware that Asheville’s recovery will take years if not decades,” stated Torin. “Therefore, by taking care of ourselves during this period, we will be able to return, participate in the reconstruction of our community, and help people for a very long time.”

They are appreciative of Floyd’s community for housing them until then.

“Words cannot express the depth of what it means to be loved and supported during difficult times,” Torin remarked. We are humbled to be in a position where we require assistance. We swear that whenever we get back on our feet, we will repay it.

To help the family rebuild all that they lost, there is a GoFundMe page.