What mold in Black Mountain could teach us about health and fungi after a natural disaster
Written by Black Hot Fire Network on May 6, 2025
After Helene, residents of Black Mountain noticed strange-colored mold was beginning to grow in some flooded buildings in town – and wondered if they should be worried for their health.
“There was sort of this fine mist that settled on everything around,” said Duke University microbiologist Asiya Gusa, who visited the area in January. “That could have been a combination of the silt and the mud that was in the air as well as potentially fungi and fungal spores.”
Concerned residents also told researchers they exhibited distressing symptoms, like headaches and coughing, after entering moldy . . .
