Hurricane Helene: British honeymooners stranded on mountainside for four days after storm

A British couple were stranded on a mountainside for four days after deadly Hurricane Helene battered the southeast of the US last week.

Chris Playfoot, 35, and Retha Ritter, 40, had wanted an “outdoorsy” break after tying the knot in Virginia last month.

The newlyweds were driving through North Carolina when their campervan broke down on Thursday 26 September – hours before the hurricane made landfall in Florida.

They managed to fix their vehicle before driving onto a campsite where they were meant to be staying for the night.

However, when they got there the area had been evacuated as North Carolina braced itself for the hurricane.

Mr Playfoot, from Manchester, and Ms Ritter, who was born in South Africa but is a British citizen, managed to book a mountainside cabin in Swannanoa, close to the city of Asheville, before settling down for the night.

Little did they know that they would end up being stranded on the mountain in Buncombe County for four days with no electricity or running water after Hurricane Helene battered the southeast of the US through the night.

Speaking to The UK Tonight with Sarah-Jane Mee, Mr Playfoot said: “On the first day, on the Friday morning, we had no idea what was happening. We had zero power.”

Ms Ritter added: “The thing that was really frightening was the rivers that formed overnight when first light came and we could see there had been a landslide.

“That’s the moment where we thought, wow, we think we might be in danger here… cell phone service went out but luckily we had a Garmin inReach, which is a satellite texting device.

“When we realised we were in danger we were able to send a text to my mother with our location. We told her we would check in every four hours, and if she doesn’t hear from us to please call for help.”

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The couple’s cabin was surrounded by rivers of water and fallen trees as the power of the storm also caused roads in Swannanoa to collapse.

Ms Ritter continued: “What we saw was post-apocalyptic, we were cut off, the destruction was enormous. What got us through was the kindness of the neighbours – they gave us food, cakes, even a bottle of prosecco.

“The resilience they showed was incredible.”

Mr Playfoot added: “We had what we call ‘hurricane parents’ up there, Jackie and Matt, they were a couple that really helped us out.

“They provided us with some food, provided us with some water and they really made the experience a lot more palatable.

“Lots of other neighbours on the mountain were really helpful as well.”

The couple were finally able to leave Swannanoa on Tuesday after the roads had been cleared.

‘Hurricane parents’ Jackie and Matt drove them to Atlanta, Georgia, where they are continuing their honeymoon.

Mr Playfoot and Ms Ritter have since set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to support people who have been affected by the hurricane in Buncombe County and western North Carolina.

Southeastern US reeling from impact of Helene

At least 202 people are reported to have died after Helene made landfall in Florida on Thursday night before leaving a trail of destruction across parts of the southeastern US, according to figures collected by Sky’s US partner network NBC News.

The fatalities include at least 98 deaths in North Carolina, 19 in Florida, 33 in Georgia, 39 in South Carolina, 11 in Tennessee and two in Virginia.

Many people lost their homes and communities across the region continue to struggle without vital supplies such as food, water and gas.