Today, we’ll be learning about Hurricane Helene. We are going to share details about what happened and how different communities were affected, updates about the recovery effort, how the public can support people affected, stories about how we were personally affected, information about how NC State has responded to the disaster, and more. You can share anything you want related to Hurricane Helene to this page.
Here are some questions you might try to answer through your research:
1. What happened? Describe the events and their impact on Western North Carolina.
2. Who was impacted the most and how?
3. Why did it happen?
4. What does the recovery effort look like in different communities?
5. How are different groups of people experiencing the effects of the hurricane differently?
6. What are some unique challenges in responding to this particular disaster?
7. What can we do to help support people in Western North Carolina?
8. What has the response to Helene been like on social media?
9. How has social media been related to the recovery effort or to the event itself and how it unfolded?
10. How did the hurricane impact you?
Do not answer all of these questions. Instead, pick one or a few that interest you, and do a deep dive into research (or in some cases self-reflection) into that issue. Then post your findings to this blog. Present the information you find in a way that is easy to read and accessible. For instance, if you want to share a website, be sure to explain what the website is and why you are sharing it. If you discover something shocking, you might write about it in a blog post. By reading this blog, viewers should become knowledgeable about the hurricane and moved to care about it. You can include any type of media (writing, photos, videos, etc.) that you want.
Be sure to cite any outside sources you use, and tag each post with the names of who contributed.
How did the hurricane impact you?
In September 2024, Hurricane Helene made historic landfall in Western North Carolina and caused unparalleled damage to the Blue Ridge Mountains. Growing up in Western North Carolina, I sat in Raleigh watching the news in fear and helplessness, watching as headline after headline revealed more of the aftermath. My father is a lineman for Duke Energy and worked for weeks after the storm, traveling across the state to work to restore power to the millions without it. Limited access to the most extensive areas of damage and the destruction of entire infrastructures made this a long and ongoing process. My own family was fortunately only without power for one week, but my dad continued to work countless hours for weeks after the storm. The effects of this storm were felt for weeks and months following and will continue to be remembered as those in Western North Carolina seek to regain normalcy after such tremendous loss. The role of social media was utilized unprecedentedly as I witnessed thousands of people giving financially and using their platforms to bring awareness to the devastation. One “content creator” I have been following for years recently moved to the Blue Ridge Mountains. She is an incredible example of utilizing her platform for the good of her community. She was sponsored by companies that provided meals to thousands of families unreachable by road as they delivered them using off-road vehicles. Her followers raised millions of dollars in support and wiped clean Amazon wishlists of necessary items that went straight to those who needed them most. In a disastrous way, this storm showed the resiliency of the communities in Western North Carolina, and the support of millions continues to be felt in the aftermath.
What are some unique challenges in responding to this particular disaster?
I chose to answer this question because of a drive I took several weeks after Hurricane Helene made landfall around September 24, 2024. My family has a cabin near Boone, NC, and as I was driving up there in late October, I began to realize the true scope of the hurricane’s impact. Unfortunately, before starting my drive, I hadn’t considered the possibility of added traffic or road blockages due to the storm, as the news had already shifted focus by then. When I arrived in Boone, however, the devastation was undeniable. The small mountain town, was simply not equipped to handle such a large-scale disaster. The storm overwhelmed the small community. The mountainous terrain made the response even more challenging, and aid trucks had trouble getting into town because of the many major interstate closures. Beyond this Boone’s unfamiliarity with large-scale disasters made for a very slow process of getting the town back on track.