The scale of devastation in Western North Carolina is unprecedented. When you combine mountains and heavy rain, all of the water runs downhill into valleys and rivers and the flooding can be catastrophic. All images are from the Durham Downtown Facebook page.
Why didn’t people evacuate?
I see this question a lot, and I can tell you why. First, when WNC catches the tail end of a hurricane, it usually results in some flash floods and sometimes the power will be out. WNC is far inland. By the time the usual storms reach it, they lose steam, so buying supplies and waiting it out is usually sufficient. That’s why when Floridian evacuate, they go up north to north Georgia and North Carolina.
This is not the case of some stubborn coastal residents who know what hurricanes do because they get frequently hit. This has not happened in the last 40 years. By the time it became apparent just how bad the storm would hit, it was too late.
Second, a lot of people in that area simply have no place to go. It’s mountainous, roads are few, and you have livestock and pets involved. Roads in the mountains are not always safe. I-40 is the main artery in or out and it collapsed in the storm. The entire region is devastated.
How can we help?
Here are some resources coming from Durham Downtown page. Please vet your own charities. The only charities we have had experience with personally are in bold. We do not endorse others. This is just a reference to get you started.
State of North Carolina
• North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund at https://pay.payitgov.com/nc
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Samaritan’s Purse (Boone, NC)
• Hurricane Helene Relief Efforts at https://www.samaritanspurse.org/article/pray-for-those-in-helenes-path
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Operation Airdrop (Concord, NC)
• Hurricane Helene Relief Efforts at https://www.operation-airdrop.com/hurricane-helene
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American Red Cross North Carolina
• Call 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767), text HELENE to 90999, or visit https://www.redcross.org/donate/dr/hurricane-helene.html
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The Salvation Army of the Carolinas
• Salvation Army Hurricane Helene Relief
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United Way of North Carolina
•UW Helps NC Helene Recovery Fund
Please be very cautious of donating to GoFundMe and other crowdsourcing campaigns unless you are 100% confident in the person running it.
As many of you know, Gordon’s extended family is in WNC. We don’t know the extent of the damage. We’ve tried to figure it out, but things were very emotional. In light of this, we have cancelled our upcoming appearance at Buns and Roses. We may end up dropping everything and travelling on short notice.
We understand this is disappointing. Our deepest apologies.
