A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help

"Every major bridge into town is completely gone," Christy Edwards, a resident of the valley, told AFP. She was speaking near the site of her former craft shop -- carried away by the fast-moving floodwaters. The isolation of this steep-sided valley, where Edwards was born and has spent her life, speaks of the utter ruination inflicted by Helene on some of the more secluded corners of the southeastern United States. Even a week after the powerful storm's passage, access to the area is only slowly being restored.