Viral Photo Claims to Show College Student Chilling Out in Flooded Dorm After Hurricane Helene

A photo of a college student chilling in an inflatable chair in flooded housing after Hurricane Helene has gone viral.

The photo shared to r/pics on Reddit shows a male student sitting on an inflatable chair while sipping a drink. The chair floats in the brown, murky water which is nearly at the apartment's window level. Despite his legs and pants being visibly soaked and submerged in water, the man appears unbothered.

The photo shared by u/FarComplaint740 has received more than 79,000 upvotes, with hundreds of users commenting on the student's reaction and his situation.

"Yeah this is f***ing disgusting, no idea how he's sitting in that filth," one user commented. Another joked, "He's a college student, this is actually much cleaner than his apartment usually is. Thanks Helene!"

Several users commented on the danger of the man being in the water, with many noting that he could get sick from contaminants. Dozens shared stories about people they knew who had to be hospitalized after standing in dirty water for prolonged periods.

The photo, which has not yet been independently verified, was allegedly taken at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. The state was hit with devastating flood waters from the hurricane, sweeping away homes, cars and entire roads.

The Latin Times has reached out to the image's submitter for confirmation.

A video shared to TikTok by user @bilz_payz — also from Appalachian State — showed flood waters rushing past her apartment building as students on higher floors stand and watch. Dozens of cars are almost completely submerged, and the waters appeared to rise almost halfway up the first floor.

More than 100 people have been killed in the southeast region of the United States as a result of the hurricane. In Buncombe County, near Asheville, North Carolina, 30 people have died due to the storm, as reported by WITN.