Triplets and their cat survive Helene on kitchen counter as floodwaters rush inside their home

FAIRVIEW, N.C. (WTVD) - A remarkable story of survival in North Carolina where triplets survived Helene after flood waters surrounded their home and rushed into their house forcing them to think and react fast.

In a video, you can hear the terror in Zoe Marlow’s voice as floodwaters from Helene came rushing into their Fairview home.

Zoe filmed as she and her two brothers, Henri and Ian, grabbed their family cat named Pumpkin and tried to escape.

“She looked out the window and saw that the water was to the hoods of the cars,” Henri said.

The water was so high, that the triplets say it was safer to stay in their home.

“We couldn’t go outside because the water was just too strong, like that of an instant death," Henri said.

The triplets rode out Helene together in their home.

One of the scariest moments was when logs from a lumber yard behind the house crashed through the front door as water rushed in.

“We just sat on the counters. The only thing that we could do was pray. About 30 minutes later, the water started receding. I know for about 10 minutes, I thought, ‘We’re going to die,‘" Henri said.

As the water receded, Zoe continued to film their trek to safety.

They could not believe the devastation once across the street from their property.

Several buildings that stored all of their dad’s priceless antiques were gone.

“Right over there. That red thing was our gas pump. So my dad, he saved his gas pump, and it’s been completely destroyed. And our Texaco station was full of antique tools and shop supplies," Ian said.

Their vehicles were also destroyed.

In a video just down the road from the Marlows' home, you can see a home floating after being swept off its foundation by floodwaters and then, you can see Zoe’s SUV floating away.

“As much devastation here, it’s just the blessings just keep on coming," Ian said.

One of those blessings was finding pictures and toys.

“We found these all the way in that cow pasture over there,” Ian said.

The pictures show their brother Jason, who died as a child. Toys found nearby belonged to him.

“The entire house is completely gone. We haven’t been able to find hardly anything. These toys were the toys that he had played with when he was a kid. So these are like the most important thing to my dad at the moment. And this is all that we could save," Ian said.

Despite not saving much, the triplets said surviving the storm together has brought them even closer.

“A lot of people’s help. The community has helped out a lot. It’s really been a blessing. Just kind of after everything has happened," Ian said.

The Marlows say their dad has owned their property for more than 50 years and poured his heart and soul into it all. While they say it is hard to think about rebuilding, they say they will just give them time.

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