HURRICANE HELENE
HENDERSON COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA, SEP 29 - DEC 9, 2024
A rebuilding trip consisting of three Immediate Relief Team members was also conducted 2-9 December which provided an additional $16,084 worth of value to hurricane survivors through 12 projects, while providing critical next steps to help make them comfortable as rebuilding projects continue over the winter.
Hurricane Helene caused widespread catastrophic damage and numerous fatalities across the Southeastern United States in late September 2024. It was the strongest hurricane on record to strike the Big Bend region of Florida, the deadliest Atlantic hurricane since Maria in 2017, and the deadliest to strike the mainland U.S. since Katrina in 2005.
Helene began forming on September 22 in the western Caribbean Sea.
Weather conditions led to the storm’s intensification, and it became a hurricane early on September 25. Late on September 26, Helene made landfall at peak intensity in the Big Bend region of Florida, with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph. The storm caused catastrophic rainfall-triggered flooding, particularly in western North Carolina, East Tennessee, and southwestern Virginia, and spawned numerous tornadoes.
In North Carolina, as of 13 December, there were 103 verified deaths, however there are over more than 200 still unaccounted for and assumed dead. More than 400 roads were closed in western North Carolina, and over 200 people had to be rescued from floods. During the flood, nearly half a million North Carolina residents were without power, water, and it is estimated that 6000 water crossings (bridges, culverts, etc.) were destroyed from the storm. Estimates of damage and needs are more than $59.6 billion across the state.
IMMEDIATE RELIEF
By September 29th, an Advanced Liaison (ADVON) team was on its way from our headquarters in Pennsylvania to meet with partners. The initial plan was to head south, following the path of the hurricane, meeting with partners in North Carolina and then in Florida, and determine where the greatest need and the best use of our skills were possible. Our first stop was Black Mountain, North Carolina, where we met with Excel College and Adventures in Missions Disaster Relief to understand the needs of this community, and scouted Buncombe County along with a local member of our Immediate Relief Team. Following this, we scouted across Henderson county after a request from Whitney Gorbett of woven.
Taking into account our Go/No-Go criteria, we decided that Henderson County and the surrounding area would be our Area of Operations. The lack of volunteers in this area, especially the lack of coordinated efforts to provide aid and relief to outlying areas, was the reason this area was chosen over the regions of Swannanoa and Asheville, which were receiving the bulk of the publicity and therefore the volunteer assistance. This area, encompassing Hendersonville and the communities of Bat Cave, Fairview, Garren Creek and Gerton, are criss-crossed with streams and included some of the worst-hit areas of the State
We were able to identify partners who were willing to host our Immediate Relief Team and equipment at the Refuge Baptist Church in Dana, North Carolina, who offered the full use of their Family Life Center, which included toilet and kitchen facilities, as well as classrooms to base our volunteers and operations center.
DISASTER LEADERSHIP
By 7 October, the first wave of our Immediate Relief Team had arrived, set up our Base of Operations at the Refuge Family Life Center, and began the intensive work of damage assessment and immediate aid deliveries to families cut off from “civilization” – bridges, roads, and driveways were blocked or washed away and many found themselves with food, water, or communications. With the help of locals like Justin Rhodes and Brad Roland, we were able to get to previously unreached homes and communities and provide them with gas for generators, bottled water, and food.
This first phase of the operation, the Response phase, is marked with chaos as survivors as well as first responders and governments, begin to realize the extent of the damages and the need. Crisis Relief and Recovery began to assess communities, using flood maps and research tools to search for homes that would have been damaged by flood waters and downed trees. Being able to help residents emotionally as well as physically is a hallmark of our Immediate Relief Team, and simply the reassurance that help is on the way began to register with those traumatized by the storm.
Being able to rapidly assess the need, fill unmet needs, while coordinating the nationwide outpouring of support from those who wanted help, is key during this initial phase after disaster. Both the team in the field and those back at home helped coordinate local volunteers, financial donations, and aid deliveries from the region. Our operations could not be accomplished without a “team of teams” approach and the willingness of our volunteers to sacrifice their time and effort.
Over the next weeks, our Immediate Relief Team coordinators worked with survivors to provide services such as muck and gut, mold sanitation, roof tarps, tree clearing, and aid deliveries to shut- in or vulnerable families. Volunteers began arriving from South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and as far away as Massachusetts and Maine. They brought years of experience, tools and equipment, and of course, willing hands to help others.
POWER THROUGH PARTNERSHIP
As always, Crisis Relief and Recovery multiplies our efforts by partnering with other organizations to share the work load, maximize efficiency, and minimize duplication. We let the expert muck and gut teams, like those from All Hands and Hearts, do what they do best. We know that it’s critical to amplify the work of local non-profits and to encourage and bolster their efforts, so we helped to train the Swannanoa Grassroots Alliance and Excel College on how to use the Crisis Clean Up tool.
We are also supported by various partners that provide critical resources and capabilities to our teams, such as Missions on Wheels, who provided a shower trailer at no cost, Monday.com, who provided our data management backbone and free consulting on urgent needs, and Airlink, who provided free airfares for team members travelling to disaster zones.
Henderson County Emergency Management Office and the North Carolina chapter of Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster provided a link to state and county resources and the Emergency Operations Center. Fill The Needs and We Fight Monsters provided critical logistic and medical resources for our teams and for the survivors in the region.
And we have to thank Whitney Gorbett of woven for her job of being our local “fixer,” our biggest cheerleader, and an unstoppable force for good for the people of Western Carolina. Her work continues in this region and we are proud to continue to work with her and her organization over the coming months and years to help the rebuild efforts.
GETTING THE JOB DONE - BY THE NUMBERS
CRR facilitates work by directly providing services and partnership with other organizations who use our damage assessments and work orders.
(values based on closed work orders, local commercial values and volunteer hours.)
DATES OF OPERATION: SEP 29 - DEC 9, 2024
OPERATION BLUE RIDGE
OPERATING COSTS:
TOTAL VALUE OF SERVICES PROVIDED:
Crisis Relief and Recovery Inc. is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt corporation and a Pennsylvania registered charitable corporation. EIN 86-3064202
- P.O. Box 93, Tyrone PA 16686
- info @ crrteam . org
- 814-246-5025