Following the tragic death of a seven-year-old boy and his grandparents, his mother has revealed his final words before floodwaters swept him away.
Megan Drye, along with her parents and her seven-year-old son, Micah, had to seek refuge on the roof of their North Carolina home.
The area of Asheville where they lived had been the victim of Hurricane Helene, and flood waters had engulfed residential streets.
Megan, her parents - who were both in their 70s - and her young son climbed to safety, but the situation quickly turned dire.
Megan’s sister, Jessica Drye Turner, took to Facebook to share the family’s terrifying ordeal.
She posted photos showing Megan’s parents wrapped in blankets on the roof as they watched helplessly while "18-wheelers and cars floated by."
Tragically, shortly after the photo was taken, the house collapsed under the pressure of the floodwaters.
Megan’s parents and Micah were swept away, and despite desperate efforts, all three drowned. Megan miraculously survived, becoming trapped in the debris.
In her first interview since the tragedy, Megan spoke with Fox Weather, recalling her son’s final moments.
She said that Micah, in his innocence and faith, called out to Jesus for help during the chaos.
"He reached for something past flesh, past human, past anything that even grown adults, I think, would reach for," Megan said.
"My son called out to the one God Almighty. And I think at that moment he was rescued, and he became my hero, and I think all of them carried me through that moment."
Megan survived by clinging to roots and branches for three hours. She recounted how she felt a divine presence urging her to stop fighting the water.
"In the midst of the chaos, all I heard was God telling me to be still and to stop fighting the water," she shared. "That was Him, that was prayers. That was prayers that told me to be still and to let the water carry me to where I needed to be rescued."
Eventually, Megan was carried to a spot where large branches helped keep her afloat. A passerby spotted her, and rescue teams arrived to bring her to safety.
Micah’s body was found a quarter-mile from where his mother had been rescued, and Megan’s parents did not survive the ordeal.
Reflecting on the loss of her loved ones, Megan expressed her pain.
"My grief today is unfathomable. I'm sorrowful. I feel broken," she said. "But what is the main thing that I take away from grief is the uplifting of all the prayers that I have received."
Asheville has experienced some of the worst devastation from Hurricane Helene, which has claimed the lives of at least 177 people across six states. Emergency efforts are ongoing, with government cargo planes delivering food and water to the hardest-hit areas.
On Wednesday, the Pentagon announced that the secretary of defense had authorized the mobilization of 1,000 active-duty soldiers to assist with relief efforts and the distribution of supplies, per the Daily Mail.
Water restoration in Asheville may take weeks, as key infrastructure was severely damaged.
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