CNN
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As many families begin the emotionally draining process of rebuilding their lives following the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene, one North Carolina family is mourning the overwhelming loss Loss of 11 of his family members.

The Craig family built memories spanning eight decades in an area affectionately known by locals as “Craigtown” in Fairview, North Carolina, CNN affiliate WTVD reported – a state whose death toll has increased following the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene has exceeded the 100 mark over 500 miles from Florida to the southern Appalachians in just 48 hours.

A mudslide caused by Helene swept through Craigtown, wiping out several homes and killing those living inside, according to WTVD. Some family members watched helplessly as water and mud devastated homes, CNN affiliate WLOS reported.

It's hard enough losing someone you love, but grieving the lives of eleven people at once has left surviving family members Jesse and Bryan Craig unable to recognize their hometown as they process their grief.

Jesse Craig listed the loved ones he lost.

“My mom and dad, my aunt and uncle, my great aunt and uncle — I lost second cousins,” Jesse said WTVD.

Speaking about the mudslide, Bryan Craig told WLOS: “They saw it, witnessed it and watched everything, and just the water through the trees, the rocks, the mud, it's incredible.”

Just a week before the tragedy, the family had celebrated a wedding together, Bryan told the station. Now, as loved ones rummage through the rubble of their families' remains Their memories remain in their homes, supported only by the photos and objects that survived the landslide.

“We're going to have some really great pictures from this wedding and pictures of people who are no longer with us,” Bryan said.

Friend Steve Runion described the Craigs as a “larger than life” family who are “pillars of the community,” he told CNN affiliate WRAL.

“They would do anything for you,” he said. “You really have a servant’s heart. That’s the best way I could put it… They were just loving people.”

For the family members who still remain in the area, they are focused on rebuilding what their relatives have worked so hard for since the mid-20th century, WTVD reported.

“They recovered a few wood stoves from a few houses,” Runion told WRAL. “They’re talking about making a memorial out of these wood stoves, that would be really neat.”

Friends of the family have organized a GoFundMe for reconstruction efforts, funeral arrangements, medical costs and unemployment during the grieving process, they say.

“It will never be the same; It's impossible that this will ever be the same again, in this small area, but we try to carry on, get on with life; I know they would want that,” Bryan said.