As the holiday season begins, residents of western North Carolina who lost everything in Hurricane Helen want their fellow Americans to keep them in their thoughts.
Some people in hard-hit areas like Swannanoa and Burnsville, or in hard-to-reach areas surrounded by the Appalachian Mountains, are still living in tents or RVs where their homes once stood.
“We've been delivering campers,” Robert Pearson, a member of Cajun Navy 2016, a Louisiana-based rescue group, told Fox News Digital. “We took delivery of one just an hour before we did this interview, and we'll be delivering two more this afternoon. But people have been donating campers to us, and we're doing everything we can. We have a list of people who need help. ”
Cajun Navy 2016 is a group of private volunteers formed after Hurricane Katrina to help those in need during and after disasters. They have been sending volunteers, including Pearson, to the area since Sept. 27, when Helen hit the North Carolina Mountains.
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“When we first got here, it was total chaos. There was a complete infrastructure failure. No telephone, no electricity, no running water,” Pearson said. “To be honest, no one knew what to do. We ended up in a small town called Clyde, and the fire station was destroyed. Part of the town had just been wiped out. And we stayed there.”
Hurricane Helen forces North Carolina residents to sleep in tents where their homes once were
Pearson said the city of Montreat provided the Cajun Navy with a building that could accommodate 30 beds, and when volunteers filled all 30 beds, Montreat offered them another building to accommodate more beds. He said that he provided it.
Dara Cody and her neighbors sleep in a tent in a former home in a picturesque garden on the banks of North Carolina's Swannanoa River. (FOX News Digital/File)
In some areas, people still don't have cars, heat or internet.
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“Even just looking directly at it [versus] Looking at the photos it's hard to imagine how bad it looks. … I went through Katrina, and this is like Katrina to me,” Pearson said. The only difference is that this is in the mountains, and 100 meters from here, everything is fine. But 20 miles down this river, it's total chaos. ”
Aerial view of buildings destroyed and damaged by Hurricane Helen's flooding in Batcave, North Carolina, on October 8. (Tama Mario/Getty Images)
Some buildings cannot be rebuilt due to government regulations. There are people who can rebuild but don't have the money. Some people still don't own a car, and others have lost their jobs and haven't found a new one. Bridges spanning towns and counties have been destroyed and will take time to replace.
Pearson recalled delivering a camper to a family whose home was damaged by about 18 inches of flooding during Helen.
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Cajun Navy 2016 is delivering donated campers to people in need of housing in Western North Carolina. (Cajun Navy 2016)
“So it's definitely salvageable. We'll be able to repair everything. But they had a big sticker on the door saying the house had to be demolished,” Pearson said. “So… there was a mortgage on that house. The river took it away, so it's not covered by homeowner's insurance. It wasn't in a flood zone, so they didn't have flood insurance.” …They have a mortgage. They have a home they can live in. what are they going to do? There's no answer to that. ”
Pearson delivered another campervan to a family of five, including three children, who lost their home in a landslide.
“I don't think they had insurance. This is a 200-year-old house and it's been in the family for years. They're not wealthy by any means, but they're wonderful people. And they're wonderful It's the people.''With no homes connected to electricity, generators are running out. [a] Right down to the telephone poles,” Pearson said.
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People collect donations at a shuttered gas station along the Swannanoa River in the aftermath of Hurricane Helen in Swannanoa, North Carolina, on October 7. (Tama Mario/Getty Images)
Counties that relied on the fall tourist season lost millions of dollars in revenue. Buncombe County officials estimate that the final quarter of 2024 will see a 70% drop in revenue for businesses that rely on tourism and hospitality. According to WFAE.
Volunteer organizations such as Samaritan's Purse, as well as churches and ministries across the country, continue to operate in various towns around western North Carolina. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) also still has personnel in the area.
FEMA recently told former Supervisor Marni Washington to avoid contacting homeowners in Florida who had President Trump signs outside their homes after Hurricane Milton, which hit the U.S. about two weeks after Helen. He came under fire after giving instructions to the department's rescue workers. Washington appeared on “Fox News @ Night” on Nov. 14 and said he was “just carrying out” orders from his superiors to avoid hostile political contact.
FEMA did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment for this story.
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In North Carolina, FEMA has so far provided “$722 million to assist survivors with home repairs, personal property replacement, and other critical recovery efforts,” as well as debris removal and other critical recovery efforts, according to an agency press release. Authorizes $1.1 billion for other emergency protection services. FEMA also sent more than 4,800 personnel to the affected areas.
Americans from across the country continue to donate everything from RVs and cars to tree removal and roof repair services to those in need. But locals say what Western North Carolina needs most right now is money.
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Some people in hard-hit areas like Swannanoa and Burnsville, or in hard-to-reach areas surrounded by the Appalachian Mountains, are still living in tents or RVs where their homes once stood. (Cajun Navy 2016)
Bakersville resident Corey Lofink told Fox News Digital that with some large grocery stores still closed and some roads impassable, local residents are struggling to get daily necessities. He said he was there.
“A lot of people are still living in campers or looking to live in campers because they're living in their cars or living in neighbors' homes,” Lofink said. spoke. “However, yesterday seems to be the last day of warm weather after this. …Next Tuesday's high temperature will be around 28 degrees Celsius, and the low temperature will be around 14 degrees Celsius. So it will be difficult to secure a heating source here. Dew.”
Two months after Helen, many roads and lands look better than they did after September 27, but “there are still so many challenges, and so many personal challenges.'' There is an ongoing struggle and personal struggle from family to family,” Lofink said.
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Mekenzie Craig dusts off the mud from her wedding photo that survived the Sept. 27 mudslide that killed her in-laws. (Adam Eugene Willis, Fox News Digital)
“We're going to continue to have problems here for at least a few years with rebuilding, creating jobs and people trying to figure out their lives,” she said. “Do they want to stay? Do they want to go? If they stay, they have to try to rebuild. But for families here, there's just been a lot of complicated and stressful things going on since the hurricane. .”
Lofink said it's hard to experience the same destruction that took some people's lives every day.
“Many say they still cry every day, whether it's for a loved one, a missing pet, or seeing their family's home destroyed.”
“There are people crying every day because it's so upsetting,” Lofink said. “I mean, you drive down Green Mountain and you see all the destruction out there. … There were some houses and they were completely washed away by the Green River. There's a cross. Those families didn't survive, and it's really unfortunate, but they had nowhere to go, and you still do. [are] You're going to see things like that every day when you're driving around in your car. ”
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Leaves stand bright amidst destroyed homes, smashed cars and orange “X” marks spray-painted on trees and rocks where authorities found her body days after Helen arrived. It's starting to change color. (Adam Eugene Willis, Fox News Digital)
Volunteers are organizing hot Thanksgiving meals and delivering boxes of Thanksgiving food directly to people so they can prepare their own meals at home.
Opportunities for Children Carolinas, an Asheville-based charity, helps children as a service project of the Destination Imagination Club, which helps other children receive scholarships for extracurricular activities. was founded by the group, which partnered with Grateful Village to host a holiday fundraiser for Helen's survivors.
In the Carolinas, Give Children a Chance volunteers organized a holiday pop-up store where locals donated gift items that could be purchased with vouchers. 100% of the proceeds will go directly to families in need in Western North Carolina.
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Founders Mary Hudson Harrelson and her mother Anna Harrelson said they wanted to create a way for people who have lost everything to purchase gifts with dignity, rather than collecting free donations. Harrelson said Western North Carolinians are resilient, and even those who lost their homes and cars are still volunteering to help their neighbors.
Chances for Children Carolinas collects donations through its website, chancesforchildrencarolinas.com, and puts them directly into the hands of people in need who apply for assistance.
