I'd never heard of the NC to Washington connection, SRS, thanks for sharing that. Western NC is unfortunately very economically depressed (and not improving in that regard with many paper mills in towns like Canton shutting down), so it's not a shock that there's lots of expats.

The livestock is an underappreciated element for sure. I saw a video online of a bridal party whose wedding was canceled by the flooding saving horses and goats left at the 'luxury ranch' their event was meant to be at. Most farmers just simply aren't prepared with enough trailer space to transport all their animals in the event of a disaster.

The French Broad is a major river in the area, but if I had to bet, it was likely Marshall, which is bisected by the river, or Hot Springs. In Marshall, the local high school building is on an island in the middle of the river.

Much of I-40 at the NC/TN border was wiped out, and current reports estimate that it won't be fixed until late 2025 -- normally an impressive time for DOT work, but certainly difficult for the area since both it and I-26, the other main artery between the two areas, are damaged from the storm. Currently the best routes around are taking US-74 into SE Tennessee or I-81 north into Virginia.

As an avid hiker, I'd be curious to know if your rangering in the area led to the discovery of any 'hidden gem' spots -- feel free to PM me to avoid thread drift. Obviously now is not the time to hike them, but I'd love to keep them in my back pocket for later if there are any :)