Once considered a “safe haven” from the looming threat of climate change, Asheville, North Carolina, and its surrounding mountain towns are now facing the harsh reality that no place is immune. What was once seen as a sanctuary has become a battleground, as the remnants of Hurricane Helene recently proved.

After a severe rainstorm had already drenched the region, Helene unleashed a torrent of devastation across the Blue Ridge Mountains. The inland mountain towns, perched thousands of feet above sea level and far from any coast, seemed an unlikely target for such devastation. Yet, the relentless rain and flooding left entire homes swept away and highways crumbled, isolating communities. Asheville and at least 20 other towns in western North Carolina experienced what scientists term "1-in-1,000-year" flooding events, showing that climate change respects no boundaries.

As the atmosphere warms, fueled by rising ocean temperatures, storms are intensifying, and their destructive capacity is growing. With every 1-degree Fahrenheit increase in global temperatures, the air holds 4% more moisture. This translates into more frequent and severe rainfall events, driving catastrophic floods like the one that struck Asheville.

A recent report from Climate Central underscored the growing danger of inland flooding caused by climate change. The very areas pummeled by Helene—southern Appalachia—were identified as among the most vulnerable. The region’s mountainous topography exacerbates the danger, funneling massive amounts of water into valleys where homes and infrastructure stand in the crosshairs.

Scientists are already studying how climate change worsened Hurricane Helene’s impact. Preliminary findings suggest that the storm was up to 20% wetter due to global warming, and some regions of the Southeast, including Georgia and the Carolinas, saw 50% more rain. The odds of these rainfall totals were made up to 20 times more likely because of climate change. These early results are based on respected, peer-reviewed methodologies.

But the warning goes beyond Asheville. Few places on Earth are shielded from the impacts of climate change, and even fewer are adequately prepared. The lesson is clear: there is no place to hide from the escalating impacts of climate change. Instead, the only path forward is to prepare and adapt.