Chapel Hill mother, son reunited after losing communication in wake of Tropical Storm Helene

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WTVD) -- Gov. Cooper provided another update Sunday on the scope of the damage unleashed by Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina, where hundreds of thousands remain in the dark and countless others are still stranded due to life-threatening flooding.

A major disaster declaration was approved by President Biden to help facilitate aid to North Carolina's mountain communities.

"North Carolina's strong and our first responders are the best in the country. I'm thankful for their hard work and for risking their lives to protect all North Carolinians. This is an unprecedented tragedy that requires an unprecedented response," said the Governor at a briefing Sunday afternoon.

ABC11 spoke with a Chapel Hill mother and son who were reunited after not being able to reach each other in the immediate wake of the storm.

Rebecca Sorensen's son Mason is a freshman at UNC Asheville, where he's been riding out the aftermath of Helene, without power, over the weekend. Rebecca and her husband, who live in Chapel Hill, said they weren't able to reach Mason after his phone died.

"My heart is a lot lighter right now," Rebecca said after Mason returned home on Sunday.

ALSO SEE: State focused on getting people out and supplies into western NC after catastrophic hit from Helene

Ultimately, Mason was able to drive out of the mountains and make the slow trek back to the Triangle. Rebecca said it was a horrifying situation to live through as she waited to get word from Mason and his girlfriend.

"There wasn't a whole lot coming out from UNC Asheville, obviously, because they didn't have any way to communicate either," she said.

Finally, Mason's girlfriend was able to get enough service to get a message out that the two were okay. He arrived back home in Chapel Hill after waiting in a lengthy gasoline line to get enough fuel to drive home.

"That's the first we heard that they were safe," Rebecca said. "And it was... a tenuous connection. So it was just we're safe kind of. And that was what we knew. But then that was in the moment enough."

Mason lives in an apartment that sits on high ground in Asheville, but he said he knows that his situation could have been entirely different.

"I saw some recordings of the Lower River Arts Districts. It was completely over, flooded by the French Broad. It was insane. I'm glad that I myself was not there and in that area, because I don't know if I would have been able to get out," he said.

RELATED: How to help those affected by Helene: volunteering, donations and other resources

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