Personal items, precious memories swept away by Hurricane Helene

The drive down Carbon City Road, in Morganton, is piled high with reminders of Hurricane Helene’s impact.

Precious valuables and irreplaceable belongings once safeguarded in The Storage Place are now unrecognizable, piled along 201 Carbon City Road weeks after floodwaters destroyed the units in which they had been stored.

Robin Freeman, manager of The Storage Place, said in addition to the physical damage of the rented storage units and the materials within them are people who have lost a great deal emotionally.

“Nobody was prepared for this. Nobody even thought this would happen,” Freeman said. “When I left on Thursday (Sept. 25), I didn’t know that I was going to come back to nothing.”

The Storage Place, owned by Norvell Properties, has been around since the 1970s. Tal Stephanides, broker for Norvell Properties, said the business has never had a flood and is not located in a floodplain.

“It’s a learning experience. We need to assess everything and see what the next steps will be,” Stephanides said.

The location on Carbon City Road contains 160 units, 5-by-10 to 10-by-25 feet, with monthly rent ranging from $50 to $105. Freeman said at the time of the hurricane, 158 of those units were occupied.

“This was all inside the gate,” Freeman said, referring to the pile of items on the side of the road. “We had it on the inside, but cars couldn’t get through. The smell has been horrendous.”

On Tuesday, vendors from FEMA were seen removing the pile of flooded contents from the side of the road.

“The stuff that they’re picking up is not even half of it,” Stephanides said.

According to Freeman and Stephanides, all tenants must remove the contents from their units by Nov. 30.

“Whatever they don’t get, they forfeit,” Freeman said. “We’ve still got about 80 customers that haven’t come yet.”

Freeman’s office and all of its contents were destroyed. Her new normal until the official closure, is to use her vehicle as an office. She sits in her car at the property during business hours available to answer calls and service customers on site.

“My office was a total loss. I had two units myself. I was able to recover a small box from the unit,” Freeman said. “I walk around, and I sit in the car. I’ve been working from my cell phone.”

According to Stephanides, the business did not have flood insurance and did not require tenants to carry renters or homeowners’ insurance.

“They don’t realize that they need insurance. People automatically assume that the business covers it, and they don’t,” Freeman said. “We didn’t require insurance, so people just looked to FEMA for help.”

Freeman said she will not be at the property on Nov. 30. Over the years, Freeman has developed a close relationship with her customers. She refers to them as family.

“I decided to leave because after seeing this for three weeks, seeing the customer’s faces, their reaction. … Customers crying because they’ve lost family photo albums, kid’s toys … stuff that’s meant a lot to them,” Freeman said. “You see their faces and their expressions, all the tears. I said, ‘This is too much.’”

According to Stephanides, there won’t be much activity at the property on Nov. 30. The company needs to secure the location and remove all remaining tenant items to begin the cleanup process and property assessments. Stephanides said the public will start to see some activity on the property mid-December.

“A lot of the tenants have been long-term renters,” Stephanides said. “We’ve been honored to serve customers for many years. We’re thankful to have such reliable and consistent customers.”

For Freeman, who has managed the business for 21 years, the closure of The Storage Place means some much-needed time off. After the loss of her husband nine years ago, Freeman became a single parent left to raise three girls on her own.

Since then, Freeman said she’s buried herself in work, leaving no time to grieve. With the time off, she looks forward to gaining some sort of peace.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do yet, but I know there is something out there,” Freeman said. “I’ve been doing this for so long, but I do feel like God was in the story. I needed a break so I’m going to take that.”

Stephanides commended Freeman for her dedication to the business.

“Robin’s been out there every day since the storm, helping out. She’s an incredible employee … she’s awesome,” Stephanides said.

When asked about the future of the property, Stephanides said it’s too early to tell.

“Obviously, we want to open back up. The Storage Place provided work and a place for tenants to store their belongings,” Stephanides said. “We want to bring it back for our clients and its history, but it’s too early to make that call.”