SWANNANOA, N.C. (WTVD) -- It's easy to forget the horrors of the day when you're far removed from the area, but for many, it doesn't feel like Hurricane Helene happened a year ago -- it feels like it was just hours ago. Only now are they beginning to see progress.

"That's what we called this place, Little Eden. It was the place we could finally call home like we owned it. It was ours. And it felt like an Eden, so to speak," Jonah Mills said.

He described the sanctuary he and his siblings once shared, which was left in a state of mold and grime after their home flooded during the storm last year. The Mills family now has a new home, custom-built, flood-resilient house.

"It's weird for sure. It doesn't feel real still, but, I mean, it's the same place. It's just a different house," Jo

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