Hurricane Helene made landfall as a category 4 hurricane near Perry, Florida on Sept. 26, 2024. It left a north bound path of destruction across the Southeastern United States that has destroyed countless lives and communities. Helene is now being called one of the deadliest storms in modern US history. In the months since the storm’s destruction shocked the state of North Carolina and the nation as a whole, the hurricane and the handling of its relief has remained a relevant topic.
The hurricane’s destructive path hit the entire Southeastern United States. Across Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia there have been at least 230 reported fatalities. The search is still ongoing to find the remaining missing people after the storm’s wreckage. The post storm devastation has hurt no area more than western North Carolina.
Appalachian State University student Rhea Subramanian was forced to evacuate out of Boone due to the storm. She says that the severity of the hurricane caught most of the people in the school’s community by surprise.
“There was not really a set evacuation plan. Everyone was just kind of waiting to see how badly we would be affected by the storm.” says Subramanian.
Helene hit the Appalachian Mountains on Friday, Sept. 27, but the full realization of the devastation didn’t appear until the coming weeks. Most residents lost their access to water and cell signals, and roads became impassable due to flooding and debris. Help had to either be airlifted in or sent on foot, creating a significant delay in the government’s ability to get aid to those in need. Mule crews were even sent through the rubble to deliver aid. Boone, one of the cities hit severely by the hurricane, was mostly evacuated by Saturday morning, but imposed curfews for safety throughout Friday night made it difficult for people to get out.
“This was a very scary experience for everyone involved in Boone and all over Western North Carolina,” says Subramanian.
It is very unusual for hurricanes to have severe effects on mountainous regions, and the structures of the area are not built with hurricane survival in mind, creating increased destruction.
“[Appalachian State] never really said anything about a plan being put in place for a storm of this size,” remarks Subramanian.
While many students had experience with tropical storms in their hometowns, the school’s population was overwhelmingly underprepared for the scale of the storm and its devastation. This trend was consistent throughout many of the homes in the western part of the state.
In Chimney Rock, North Carolina, the main street was wiped out by the storm. In Asheville, flooding rose to 24.67 feet. City bus systems in Boone were halted as the amount of debris caused unsafe driving conditions, stranding many residents in their homes. Lake Lure’s famous Rainbow Bridge honoring lost pets washed away. Throughout the Appalachian Mountain region, more than 14 inches of rain fell. The record rainfall within the storm was in Busiek, North Carolina, reaching up to 31 inches. A recent estimate put out by the North Carolina governmental relief efforts reported that the storm caused at least 53 billion dollars in damage.
Coupled with Helene’s devastation, the state General Assembly has reported that North Carolina has yet to fully recover from Hurricanes Michael and Florence, two extreme hurricanes that hit the state’s coast in the last 10 years. The collective relief efforts from these natural disasters have put a serious burden on the NC Department of Transportation, federal emergency aid organizations like FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers, and local governments across the state. The necessity of redesigning and rebuilding major transportation routes throughout the mountains has created serious detours and delays for car travel across the Western regions of North Carolina and into neighboring states, like Tennessee and Virginia. NCDOT estimates that these delays will continue for several more months, with no clear end date for the repairs. The severity of the road damage is largely due to the fact that a large section of Interstate 40 was knocked into the Pigeon River near the Tennessee and North Carolina border.
Power has been returned to the majority of the affected areas, and businesses have begun to rebuild and reopen. Appalachian State University paused classes for a month but began reinstating in-person classes in late October. The physical damages from the hurricane are still heavily affecting the daily lives of residents. Many homes were hit by falling trees and strong winds, meaning residents are being forced to do major repairs.
“… buildings were affected, dorm halls were destroyed, and there was an apartment building about 10 minutes away from me with a staircase that completely collapsed and a [Appalachian State] student was in there. It was very bad,” shared Subramanian.
The physical and mental tolls on the health of affected residents are expected to linger for years after the storm.
North Carolina agencies are still asking for monetary donations and volunteer aid to assist with recovery. Communities still need lots of help to rebuild. Reputable resources to access in order to give towards the governmental relief efforts include the governmental relief efforts page and National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster.
Sources:
Perrotti, Kyle. The Long Road Ahead: NCDOT Begins Process Toward Massive I-40 Repairs Following Helene. 24 Oct. 2024, smokymountainnews.com/news/item/38530-the-long-road-ahead-ncdot-begins-process-toward-massive-i-40-repairs-following-helene.
Shapiro, Emily, et al. “Hurricane Helene Updates: Death Toll Surpasses 230 as Rescue Efforts Continue.” ABC News, 11 Oct. 2024, abcnews.go.com/US/live-updates/hurricane-helene/?id=113931821.
The Associated Press. “North Carolina Government Calculates Hurricane Helene Damages, Needs at Least $53B.” NPR, 24 Oct. 2024, www.npr.org/2024/10/24/g-s1-29660/north-carolina-hurricane-helene-damage#:~:text=RALEIGH%2C%20N.C.%20%E2%80%94%20The%20catastrophic%20flooding,damages%20and%20recovery%20needs%2C%20Gov.
Wral. “Hurricane Helene Isn’t the Only Big Storm North Carolina Is Still Recovering From.” WRAL.com, 19 Nov. 2024, www.wral.com/story/hurricane-helene-isnt-the-only-big-storm-north-carolina-is-still-recovering-from/21728403.
