My name is Cindy DeWitt. I am a retired Buncombe County Schools teacher and disabled veteran. I moved to this community in the mid-90s and have called Asheville home for over 30 years. I served
as a teacher and coach for the Erwin Community for the last 17 years. My children attend N. Buncombe district. I know how life is like in these here mountains, and I hate to even ask for help, but I have exhausted all avenues and put my name on every list to help out after Hurricane Helene hit the mountains of WNC on September 27th, 2024.
We had major loss and unfortunately insurance did not cover most of the damage. Insurance, in North Carolina, does not cover land or mudslides. Most properties in NC are in mountain areas. We had a devastating landslide, with 30+ inches of rain from Helene. We are now facing future slides. We have exhausted ourselves calling and reporting the slides, to get help from preventing more slides. The first slide happened 3 months ago. I have had multiple agencies ( FEMA, Buncombe County Government, Woodfin Government, NCEM, etc…, 4 engineers, 2 contractors, and 2 land experts come evaluate and possibly help to no avail. Their conclusion is the ground is not stable with the possibility of more land, my driveway, and possible house sliding into the French Broad River. Also with every rain it worsens, eroding 6-12 inches of land.
The plan to fix the issue is to put a massive retaining wall in place at the bottom of the slope where the slide stopped. The slope is 5 degrees, so it will not be an easy job. The size of this wall would be 100x20. The blocks will need to be stacked 20 feet high (50K), and this would be backfilled with stone, lots of it, and various sizes (30K), labor, drainage (10k) and a (8k)guardrail system to prevent injuries. I’m still getting estimates, but the average is about 120k. The engineer is (3k). I have applied to FEMA; however, they do not help with landslides unless it inhibits my access to my home. I literally have to wait for my house to slide before I can get
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Cindy DeWitt and girls
Please help us make our home and property safe again.