Flooding caused by Hurricane Helene devastates western North Carolina
Hurricane Helene causes catastrophic damage across several states
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Relief efforts are under way to help communities across western North Carolina reeling from the impacts of Tropical Storm Helene.
Unprecedented flooding from the storm swamped municipal water systems, washed away roads and downed utility lines — leaving many mountain communities cut off on Sept. 27 and in critical need of emergency aid. At one point, authorities closed 400 roads, deeming them unsafe for travel. The Associated Press reported Sept. 30 that supplies were being airlifted to the region around the isolated city of Asheville.
Hurricane Helene garnered Category 4 major hurricane status just before landfall along the Florida Panhandle Sept 26. The 500-mile-wide storm then carried catastrophic flooding and destruction through Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said it was “one of the worst storms in modern history for parts of North Carolina.”
As of Sept. 29, at least 36 deaths were reported in North Carolina due to the storm, according to media reports, and search and rescue operations continued through the weekend to locate hundreds who remain stranded or unaccounted for.
“Power is out everywhere and cellphone towers are down — and water is out in some places, too,” said Margaret Beale, principal of Immaculata School in Hendersonville, which was flooded and remains closed. “This really is a disaster. People can’t get out of their homes and may not have food or water.”
Parishioners, clergy and staff across the Diocese of Charlotte are rallying to provide help — uniting in prayer, raising money collecting and delivering relief supplies.
“We pray for everyone who has been affected, especially for those who have been injured or lost loved ones, and for the communities in western North Carolina that are seeing total devastation,” said Msgr. Patrick Winslow, vicar general and chancellor of the Diocese of Charlotte.
The diocese has also organized a drive to take emergency supplies from Charlotte to affected areas. An initial truckload of supplies was delivered Sept. 29 to Immaculate Conception Church in Hendersonville, where the community was in need of water, according to staff reports.
The aid agency is coordinating with local first responders and emergency relief agencies such as FEMA and the American Red Cross, and it has also requested disaster grant funding and other help from Catholic Charities USA and its Disaster Response Team out of Alexandria, Virginia.
As of Sept. 29, power remained out, trees were down and water damage was reported at several churches and schools. In a statement, Duke Energy said a majority of customers are expected to have power returned no later than the evening of Oct. 4. However, repair efforts are so widespread that very few areas have been assigned estimated times of restoration, the company said.
“Thousands of lineworkers are working tirelessly to assess damage and make repairs in response to the historic destruction from Helene,” the statement said. “Due to the severity of damage and ongoing flooding in the western Carolinas, we anticipate a multiday restoration effort.”
In Swannanoa, a large oak tree fell onto the 88-year-old St. Margaret Mary Church. “It’s terrible. It looks like a war zone,” Roger Patton, a landscaper for the church, said..
“There’s no power and no water and none of the stores are open. Almost everybody has some kind of damage. And everybody up here needs water — and we’re getting to the point where we’re going to need food, too,” he told the Catholic News Herald, Charlotte’s diocesan newspaper.
On Sept. 27, Patton said he saw six people rescued from swift currents of the Swannanoa River, which had swelled beyond its banks to five times its size. “People were clinging to trees and debris piles, anything they could. The river washed away whole houses and trailers just came apart. We’ve had floods before, but we’ve never seen anything like this.”
How to help
Catholic Charities USA has a Hurricane Helene relief fund at stlreview.com/4dDGH8I
To help North Carolina communities recover, see the Catholic Charities of the Charlotte Diocese’s Helene Relief Aid appeal at ccdoc.org.