Mom Was ‘Worried Sick’ When She Couldnt Reach Son After Helene (Exclusive) [Video]

A military mom is thankful her 19-year-old son was spared from Hurricane Helene, while the college freshman says he’s still “at a loss for words” after the University of North Carolina Asheville sustained significant damage as a result of the storm.

“I couldn’t have ever imagined that this would take place,” Texas native Gabe Martin tells PEOPLE.

But after barreling through Florida’s Big Bend area as a Category 4 storm on Thursday, Sept. 26, Helene made its way through western North Carolina and wreaked havoc in Buncombe County, where the liberal arts college is located.

Martin, an engineering major, decided to ride out his first hurricane, which by then had weakened into a tropical storm, as he sheltered in place from his campus dorm.

“I figured, how bad could it be? We’re in the Appalachian Mountains, I’m in a dormitory made out of brick and I’m going to be perfectly fine,” …