Helene Has Devastated Western North Carolina - Please Help
It’s still early but this could be the biggest disaster in the history of North Carolina and people really, really need your help.
It’s hard to comprehend just how bad things got in the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee as Helene passed through.
It’s early, but we’ve seen astonishing and terrible things: houses floating down rivers, highways washed out and the state has warned people not to even try to drive to Western North Carolina.
Eighteen people are dead so far and likely thousands have lost everything.
It’s that bad.
Look at what we’ve seen so far and keep in mind that communications now are still very limited. Elon Musk, this would be a great time for Starlink to reach out.
Lori Brown, Ed.D., posted this: “Western NC is officially cut off from the rest of the world. There’s no way in & no way out. Most have no cell service. the entire communication system is down and whole towns are under water. Under strict curfews, etc. Do not drive or fly to western NC right now. It will take weeks to restore power.”
Boone and Asheville are basically submerged and we hear that right now, the only way to get to Asheville is by helicopter. Blowing Rock, Black Mountain - they’re under water too. There have been warnings of dams on the verge of collapse. We think two were on the verge but later they appear to have survived. Comms are shaky and news is uncertain. We sure hope they made it.
Interstate 40 is completely gone near the NC-Tennessee border. Someone jumped out of their car on 40 and climbed over the concrete barrier to warn the other side that they were about to drive into an abyss - and there are reports that the evacuation routes are washed out too.
It’s not that important right now, we can come back to it, but I-40 is a major corridor and it may affect supplies in the rest of the state.
In places the water is up to the rooftops - and that’s for the houses that have not washed away.
To sum it up, it’s a world-class disaster and it’s going to be very difficult to clean it up. People are suffering and not just a little bit.
Whatever you can do to help, please consider it. Medical care is a priority and so is shelter and food. People are going to be hungry very quickly if food can’t be brought in efficiently.
Red Cross is a great option and there are other ways to help out.
This looks like the worst disaster this state has ever seen. Please consider helping if you can. And if you can’t, please pray.