Some tenants who could barely afford rent in western North Carolina before Hurricane Helene have fallen behind and are now facing the possibility of eviction.

Though they were seven hours away, their suffering felt like his own. He couldn’t bear the thought of watching his home swallowed by floodwaters, losing friends and family to a sudden disaster, or spending Thanksgiving alone,

Asheville officials said they support an evictions pause - a measure that was instituted in Maui after last summer’s fires and in most states during the coronavirus pandemic. But in North Carolina, only the governor, the general assembly or the state Supreme Court can enact a moratorium.

It’s been two months since Hurricane Helene cut a path of deadly destruction across the Southeast. Ahead of the holiday season, PBS News returned to the hard-hit region of western North Carolina, where despite the challenges they face rebuilding their lives,