Hurricane Helene: The Aftermath


By Melissa - Posted at After Darkness, Light:

Posted October 2, 2024

CAUTION: SOME OF THE FOLLOWING MAY BE DIFFICULT FOR SOME READERS.

For those of you who are unaware, I live in the easternmost area of Western North Carolina. Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock you’ve been seeing and hearing about the widespread devastation that has taken place over the past several days. This was by far the worst weather event I have ever lived through (and that’s coming from someone who lived through thirty-seven Michigan winters). Fortunately for my family and myself, we were spared from any sort of tragedy. We were without power for five days and had limited communication capabilities for much of that time, but we were never without food, water, or shelter. We have experienced some material losses, had very minor damage to our home and property, and continue to be affected financially. However, we stayed close to home, looked after our neighbors, and knew where our loved ones were and that they were safe. This is not the case for so many.

The destruction of the WNC area is simply unimaginable. I’ve seen photos and videos of entire towns completely erased in little more than an instant, many of which are within an hour drive from my own home. Some of the places we have most enjoyed visiting since we have lived here are now destroyed, under water, buried in mud, or altogether gone. I find myself alternating between mourning their loss and being so thankful to have experienced them before they were taken away. But that’s still not the worst part.

Just this morning (this is Wednesday – Helene arrived here last Friday), I was reading a post on social media from a woman who was driving from Marion to her job in Asheville (a forty-minute drive that currently takes about two hours) for the first time since it happened. I can’t even begin to describe how reading her account affected me. She spoke about the catastrophic damage she saw along the way to homes, businesses, trees, and roadways. After a while she encountered carcasses of dead animals both wild and domesticated. Then came the deceased people, still floating in the flood waters that had claimed their lives. When she contacted emergency officials to report it, they told her they were aware of the situation but there was nothing they could do at the present time. They were still too overwhelmed trying to locate and rescue survivors. The dead would have to wait. She was traumatized. My gut was wrenched just reading about it.

There have been countless others who have watched their families and/or homes literally get carried away right before their eyes. I can’t even fathom the horror and helplessness those people must have gone through in those moments. Major interstate highways and bridges have been washed out, crippling transportation through those areas. And that’s just a tip of the iceberg of this tragedy that is Helene. So many small mountain towns are still completely cut off from outside access and communication. Hundreds of people are still considered missing as the known death toll continues to climb. Stories are yet to be told, and the tremendous grief has only begun.

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