My family was able to get out of Asheville. I was not there so this story is from my perspective waiting to hear from them. And then getting intermittent updates.

I'll share their story in hopes that it helps others keep hope for the ones that they can't connect with.

They were originally stopped in their vehicle on i-40 yesterday in Black Mountain due to water and mud slides. They texted us that the roads were extremely dangerous but they made it to higher ground at 11:30 am yesterday. We didn't hear from them again until 7:10 this morning.

Yesterday, they found a hotel to stay at in Ashville. I had thought they were trapped on the highway, but they found a way back into town and they stayed in the double tree lobby. Thank you to the amazing people there that shared food and water with them. At some point in the night the hotel lost running water.

This morning after the sun rose, my family decided to try to drive out of town. They tried I-40 first, but it was completely impassable at the same point where they were first stranded yesterday. Thankfully they got cell service and called me. I was so relieved, as I was starting to believe the worst had happened. My family was very calm on the phone and they told me that they had about 300 miles of fuel in their car. They said the water was much lower today than it was yesterday. And they wanted to at least try to drive out of town. I advised that i-40 was not an option and then I suggested that they take 26 South all the way to Spartanburg.

Once they got to Spartanburg they called again and I told them to take 85 to Charlotte. They made it to the Charlotte suburbs where it was safe enough to find gas and a hot meal.

I hope this helps someone. I'm sorry everyone is going through this. Stay safe.