Looking at the pictures of the complete devastation of Hurricane Helene in North Carolina, Florida, Tennessee and elsewhere is bringing back some hefty sense memories of Hurricane Sandy hitting New Jersey.
I remember the smell of everything wet and moldy and rotten, and the sight of streets that looked as if the houses had vomited their contents, if there was house standing at all. I remember fire departments from as far away as Oklahoma doing demolition, and power departments from Maine and New Hampshire looking at the tangled wiring. Our power was eventually restored by crews from Alabama and Arkansas. I remember gas crews from absolutely everywhere including Canada searching meticulously for open gas lines. I learned that the mayors of a lot of beach towns and small townships are unpaid positions, including after a natural disaster.
I remember the absolute worst of the devastation, the scent of mold and standing sewer water, the frightening darkness and silence at night, the sight of boats in yards where no houses stood.
And I definitely remember the absolute kindness of people, sharing extension cords across residential streets, bringing coffee and donuts to the gas station attendants. (In New Jersey it’s illegal to pump your own gas and, as we were under gas rationing, they were very busy.) The National Guard and Army Corps set up kitchens with refrigerated trailers and medical tents, and restaurant chefs worked together to feed all the volunteers, all the fire departments and power and electrical crews from everywhere, all the people who lost everything and didn’t have anywhere to go. Cases of water and shared generators and phone charging stations on the stoops of row houses: a thousand little kindnesses to help an overwhelmingly shitty and terrifying situation.
And, if I can growl for a minute, I will never forget the Red Cross doing photo ops with diverted emergency vehicles and taking in millions, then “diverting assets for public relations purposes,” per internal reports obtained by ProPublica and NPR in 2013, as reported by Justin Elliott and Jesse Eisinger, ProPublica, and Laura Sullivan, NPR.
(I will never not be angry about this, so thank you for allowing me a moment to snarl.)
I’ve been collecting links for a few mutual aid groups, local organizations, and resources to donate to help. It is bleak to see the aftermath, and terrifying to comprehend the devastation, but we can each help, and provide a little kindness for someone who desperately needs it.
- Via Kelly Hayes:Appalachian Medical SolidarityVENMO: AppMedSolid
CASHAPP: $Streetside
(write FLOOD SUPPORT in the description) - Mutual Aid Disaster ReliefPayPal: MutualAidDisasterRelief@gmail.com
Venmo: MutualAidDisasterRelief - Day One Relief, North CarolinaPaypal link
- Hunger and Health Coalition, Boone, North Carolina
- Hospitality House Shelter, Boon North Carolina
- Operation Airdrop Helene Relief
- Appalachia Funders Network
- Samaritan’s Purse
- American Library Association Disaster Relief Fund
If you have recommendations for organizations operating locally and immediately, please drop them in the comments. Thank you for being a wonderful, awesome community.
I live in the NC mountains, near Western Carolina University. We have some trees down and road damage, but we are fine. The entire western part of NC is devastated. People will need help for a very long time. I would recommend the MANNA food bank. Their website says they are closed now, but they are a reputable organization and will need funds for the long haul.
https://www.mannafoodbank.org/#
Hi Sarah, thanks for this. I’m following closely because most of my family lives in Brevard, NC (Transylvania county) and they are, while not as hard hit as Asheville, without power or communications – with no projected restoration date. Asheville is devastated and people will definitely need help for a long time. 🙁
Thank you so much for sharing, Sarah.
I’m absolutely gutted by this all. I went to college at Warren Wilson which is a small school of just 800 (there were only 500 of us when I was there in the late 90s) in Swannanoa just outside of Asheville. Four years of my life hiking on trails in the mountains and driving on those gorgeous back roads, and it sounds like Swannanoa and neighbor Black Mountain both are barely there either anymore. The school is holding on at least as the students and a lot of faculty live on campus and are a rather self-sufficient group (I mean apparently they found and opened up a well on campus because there’s no running water so now have some non potable at least).
The destruction there is horrifying, and with not many ways in or out I’m hoping that rescues are actually taking place. I’m worried the death numbers are going to rise significantly though in the coming weeks as some of the towns are completely cut off.
I’m so grateful this one little place in my world (SBTB) is showing such care as with so many places inaccessible it feels like the news hasn’t touched on much of this. All my love out to anyone stuck at the moment (as my aunt is in Hendersonville south of Asheville) who maybe just today got cell service back; I can’t imagine the past 48 hours and now days/weeks ahead.
My grandmother never got over being angry at the Red Cross for charging soldiers coming off the front lines/out of the trenches (including my grandfather) for coffee during World War II. Other groups, like the Salvation Army, did not charge.
@chacha1: I was in Brevard this summer when my older son did one of their Jazz Institutes so we flew down for the performance. I cannot imagine the devastation with all the mud, landslides, and debris, and it makes my chest hurt knowing how hard the recovery is going to be.
Thank you for sharing additional resources, y’all.
Here is a link from Blue Ridge Public Radio about various places to donate to – the devastation is over so a wide area here, anything will help.
https://www.bpr.org/bpr-news/2024-09-28/list-ways-to-donate-and-help-flood-victims-in-western-north-carolina-after-hurricane-helene
Here is a GoFundMe page for Erwin/Unicoi County in East Tennessee: https://gofund.me/bad8e5ab
If you are in upper East Tennessee, East Tennessee State University is collecting water, food, cleaning supplies, and personal hygiene items to create aid packages for people in the region affected by the storm. Here is the link to the page with information on how to donate: https://www.etsu.edu/response/default.php
Also please donate blood wherever you live if you can.
My parents are in Northeast Tennessee, no power, and their cell phones are drained. There was a tornado in SC which will impact their internet/phone service. They basically live in a dead zone, and I can’t ahold of them. Their county was hit hard. It abuts NC.
World Central Kitchen is distributing food in several states. Wonderful organization.
I give a monthly donation to World Central Kitchen. They go wherever disaster strikes and start feeding people. They have learned a lot over the years and it is interesting to read about this on their website. They set up a kitchen in 12 hours after the hurricane struck and gave out four hundred meals. They help people all over the world.
@SBSarah, I was going to respond by sharing that when my mom, in the early 1970s, made disparaging comments about the Red Cross, I was surprised and wondered where that venom was coming from because she was not a complainer. Not until reading @JenC’s comment did I realize that Red Cross poor behavior isn’t a recent thing.
Best Friends (bestfriends.org) has staff in that area with more coming to help animal shelters and their workers. They are arranging animal transports out of the impacted areas and bringing in food for animals in need.
I also don’t support The American Red Cross any more, but I like knowing where my money is going and that it will be used for what I think is important. These recommendations hit that spot for me — thanks!
My thoughts are with all impacted by this disaster. I am so sorry.