The Unfolding Disaster in the Appalachian Mountains
Note: This update may be a bit scrambled, as my thoughts are a bit scrambled right now. Please SCROLL TO THE END for a list of donation sites.
Saturday night, I tucked my four-year-old into a strange bed and began the nightly routine of singing her favorite lullaby, Down in the Valley.
Down in the valley, valley so low/ Hang your head over/ Hear the wind blow / Hear the wind blow, dear / hear the wind blow. / Hang your head over/ Hear the wind blow.
My throat closed as I began the second verse of this American folk song, one my own mother sang to me. I remembered the feeling of my mother’s fingers delicately stroking my arm, just gently enough to raise goosebumps. The repetitive motion always nudged me right over sleep’s threshold. I’ve repeated the tradition for my own little girl, singing this Appalachian lullaby every night. Her rosebud mouth forms a perfect o as she sings “hear the wind blow” off-key.
But tonight, in the wake of Hurricane Helene, the melancholy song about life’s valleys hits a bit different.
In the early hours of Friday morning, the Western Carolinas were struck by the remnants of Hurricane Helene. The strong storm barrelled into the Big Bend of Florida before turning northward and unleashing havoc upon the entire Southeast quarter of the United States.
In my current home city of Greenville, South Carolina, the Reedy River transformed from a picturesque river to a monster. Frothing rapids bisect Falls Park in downtown Greenville. Bridges and roadways have collapsed. Every few feet of road, an oak thicker than a grown man’s waist block passage. Power poles resemble a child’s scrambled playthings. Houses sag beneath trees that slammed into their rooflines.And everywhere, residents wandering with somewhat dazed expressions, raking soaked leaves into soggy piles and checking on each other. (source)
As of writing this essay, around 90% of Greenville residents are still without power. Linemen crews are en route from surrounding states, but the devastation will take days if not weeks to rebuild.
And as bad as Greenville was impacted, our neighbors over the mountains were hit even harder. Greenville is wrecked, but Asheville and the surrounding mountain towns are in a state of catastrophe. (source)
Hurricane Helene unleashed record flooding upon the picturesque and whimsical city of Asheville, NC. The French Broad River broke its banks, effectively cutting Asheville off from all outside support. The familiar Biltmore Village has been reduced to rooftops poking out of rapids. Residents are stranded within the city without power, water, or resources, with many choosing to flee when able. (source)
The devastation extends beyond Asheville, well into the mountains. Small mountain towns and hollers such as Black Mountain, Swannanoa, and Montreat are in dire need of help. As far as Erwin, TN, floodwaters have wrecked havoc. Entire homes have been decimated by flash flooding. The beautiful moutain town of Chimney Rock was flattened as though it had never been. As far east as Greeneville, TN, dams strain to contain the torrential rainfall, while residents scramble to conserve water and prepare for potential dam failure. (source)
Independent journalists, locals, and weather reporters have urged the public to brace for bad news out of the mountains as rescue workers begin to access these communities. My stomach churns to consider the magnitude of the crisis. I fear that we will see the death toll begin to tick higher.
With these compounding catastrophes, I have begun to realize that my “downed trees” and “multi-day power outages” are mild concerns. My husband and I were exceedingly fortunate to have a clear evacuation route and one vehicle with enough gas to flee. No matter how long it takes for Duke Energy to restore our power in Greenville, we have options and family to bunk with. So many are not as fortunate. Even in Greenville, neighborhoods are cut-off and resources are becoming scarce.
Thankfully, a large fleet of nearly 2000 utility workers arrived in Greenville late this weekend. According to social media posts and eyewitness reports from my friends there, the workers have been rallying at Haywood Mall and driving out from there. Duke Energy indicated it would have majority of power restored to its Greenville area customers by Friday, October 4th at 11:59pm. Our power grid infrastructure was significantly damaged; personally, I wouldn’t be surprised if repairs took much longer. However, in my opinion, no one works harder than linemen, so I’m sure they will be hustling to restore power to the city.
Mark and I lived in Roan Mountain, TN for a few years before relocating to Arizona and now, Greenville. Roan Mountain remains my favorite place on earth. We have every intention of someday buying property there again. When we received word last night of the devastating flooding there as well, I sat down and cried.
The roads to our old cabin (pictured above) are “destroyed” or “gone.” The village of Roan Mountain flooded, and a temporary shelter has been set up at Cloudland High School. While we’ve heard from most of our friends, we are still waiting to hear from our former neighbors on Heaton Creek. Cell service is non-existent in those mountains during good weather; so with power outages and washed-out roads, I can only imagine that people must be stranded in the hollers and hills.
“This crisis may take years to rebuild, so every single dollar and person will be a help.”
How to help these devastated communities:To help Greenville, SC:
Greenville doesn’t have nearly the relief organization that other areas have set up. We were quite wrecked by Hurricane Helene, but other areas in the Western Carolina moutains were hit much harder. I will update this list if more becomes available.
United Way of Greenville County
Dozens of GoFundMe fundraisers for local Greenville families
To help Asheville and Western Carolina:
The Salvation Army of the Carolinas
Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry
WNC Regional Livestock Center — for assitance to farmers in the area
World Central Kitchen — this link seems to donate to all of their global missions at once, not just WNC. But I do know they are boots-on-the-ground in Asheville.
Black Mountain Volunteer Firefighters Association
Baptists on Mission — setting up recovery sites in Boone, Spruce Pine, Hendersonville, and Marion
Mountain Projects — based in Waynesville, but historically helps with emergency housing for storm victims
To help East Tenneseee towns such as Erwin and Roan Mountain:
Neighbor to Neighbor Disaster Relief Fund
Help Erwin Heal GoFundMe Campaign
United Way of East Tenn. Highlands
First Baptist Church of Erwin and the Unicoi Disaster Relief Fund
You can also always donate to American Red Cross, Salvation Army, and Mutual Aid which are national disaster relief funds. However, personally, I will be donating as locally as possible to local centers, families, and churches to cut out as much bureaucratic red tape as possible.
Thank you so much to all who have reached out to check on Mark and me. We are truly okay, other than a large yard mess and power outage. We are so fortunate that “a mess” is all we have to contend with, when so many nearby towns have experienced devastating loss of life, infrastructure and property. This crisis may take years to rebuild, so every single dollar and person will be a help. Thank you all!
