Many organizations are working to provide relief and recovery to those affected by Hurricane Helene in the aftermath of this tragedy. To support people in Western North Carolina who were affected by Hurricane Helene, you can donate to organizations like the American Red Cross, Manna FoodBank, and Samaritan’s Purse. For more information on how you can help, visit the websites of these organizations or check local community boards for volunteer opportunities. In the same way you can personally volunteer with many relief efforts, run your own food drive, or contribute to local disaster relief funds to help in your efforts. To support long-term recovery and unmet needs in communities impacted by Hurricane Helene, donate to the North Carolina Community Foundation’s Disaster Relief Fund as well. You can find more information on ways you can help the efforts here.
You can find more resources on current state updates, opportunities to help, response training, and resources for those currently living in affected areas here as well.
What has the response to Helene been like on social media?
There was a lot of fake news and misinformation on social media, with some people even thinking the government was behind it and that they deliberately refused to provide aid. On X (Twitter), millions of tweets were shared, but not all of them were trustworthy. Some accounts spread conspiracy theories claiming that it was a weather manipulation targeting pro-Trump areas. Additionally, there were false images generated by AI that exaggerated the destruction. You can have more information clicking on those links: How hurricane conspiracy theories took over social media and Politically charged rumors and conspiracy theories about Helene flourish on X.
How did the hurricane impact us?
As French people, we had never experienced receiving alerts on our phones during this type of event. It even happened in the middle of the night, and we were afraid because it was really loud. Furthermore, our parents were worried about the situation because, on social media, there was a lot of fake news and misinformation. Overall, it did not really affect us personally.
Research: The ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) has been committed to finding and relocating hundreds of pets and animals that were abandoned or lost during the hurricane. According to the ASPCA, “our teams worked round-the-clock to provide much needed relief to shelters, pets and pet owners in impacted areas.” If animals could not be reunited with their owners, the organization worked to find temporary homes for them. While trying to keep these animals in North Carolina, it wasn’t easy to find space for them all, they resorted to a dozen animals being transported to Ohio, where they were being treated and taken care of in the meantime.
It was found that over 25,000 animals were impacted by the relief that the ASPCA provided. Not only did this organization make huge efforts to find and save these animals, but they also provided $3 million in hurricane relief to other organizations helping animals who have been affected by the storm. To continue their generous efforts, the article explains that the ASPCA ” distributed more than 389,900 pounds of pet food and cat litter, routed more than 660 calls through the animal assistance hotline and provided care to more than 150 animals through the emergency shelter.” This shows that the ASPCA went above and beyond in its efforts to help these animals.
As the hurricane has left its impact on the community, the organization continued to help by operating two facilities in Ashville, NC to continue to provide support and help. One of the most beneficial things the ASPCA has done throughout the hurricane and after has been providing time-stamped updates on their website. This has kept the public and community in the know with what they are doing and how others can help. They have shared stories about specific animals and their reunion stories with families, where animals are going, as well as photos and evidence to show that they are taking the time to devote all that they can to this process.
Personal Connection: Personally, as a volunteer at the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) of Wake County, I witnessed the disaster relief executed by central North Carolina in response to Hurricane Helene. In my time volunteering for the past twelve years, the assistance provided for Western North Carolina has been the most significant impact I have been able to observe through the SPCA. I recall conversations from my mom, a lead volunteer, getting copious calls for us to consider fostering dogs to open up space within the shelter to house animals from shelters in Western North Carolina that were without power, surrounded by flooding, or lost refrigerated medicines and medical equipment following the Hurricane’s disaster. As a direct result, we became a foster family.
Planes flew and buses drove across the state to relocate dogs and cats found during the recovery of the Hurricane and were placed at the SPCA. Many of them needed immediate medical assistance or even surgeries. The SPCA was persistent with its efforts to fundraise and provide the help necessary to save these animals’ lives. Since then, many of the pets have been reconnected or adopted by new loving families. My family has fallen in love with fostering dogs since our first, Francesca, including the sweet foster, Tawny, that we have now. The efforts of the Wake County SPCA have outstood the impact of Hurricane Helene as it has since flown and recovered animals from other shelters across the country in similar disaster relief responses. You can follow the SPCA of Wake County’s Instagram (@SPCAOFWAKECOUNTY) for disaster relief updates or information for assisting to promote the health and well-being of animals in need.
This image features Alexandra’s foster dog, whom she got from the ASPCA. As you can see, she is placed in a home with love and support rather than kept in a small cage in a shelter.
Hurricane Helene was a devastating disaster that affected much of Western NC and many people felt the effects. One group of people that was greatly affected were the young children in school in many of these counties affected. In an article by Caroline Parker, she explains the updates with 4 schools that were devastated by the hurricane.
Atkinson Elementary School is in Henderson County and is split down the middle by a creek. The rain from Helene caused the creek to swell and flooded both buildings on the sides of the creek. Because of the amount of water the school took on and the lack of power, the school sat wet for a long time, and all the floors would have to be replaced before the school could reopen. The young children would’ve been split between other schools in the county, but the Henderson County Boys and Girls Club offered the use of their building. After several months there, the school finally reopened on December 16th.
In McDowell County, Old Fort Elementary School was flooded and the students had to merge with another elementary school in the county. They are working to reopen the school in Fall of 2025.
In Watauga County, Valle Crucis School was flooded due to Helene rainwater. This video describes the events.
The devastation of these schools and many others affected many children and older students. This movement and rapid change can have a great effect on young students and their environment growing up. It is important not to overlook the young children who went through such a devastating event. Many recovery efforts are focused on homes and stores, which are important, but more attention needs to be given to school and children’s homes.
Over 126,000 homes were destroyed alongside 160 sewage and drainage systems and 1,000 roads and bridges that people once used to drive on everyday. The recovery effort was the most expensive since 2018 during Hurricane Florence. This effort costed $53 billion dollars, far surpassing Florence’s recovery cost in NC at $17 billion dollars. E4E Relief’s blog uncovers an experience of a current client that was described as “apocalyptic.” Not expecting the intense storm surge, the client was overwhelmed into a mode of outright survival, having to relocate in different areas of her home due to rising water levels. One of these areas was the patio of her house because the water was getting to her shins and she owned a dog, so caring for it was a main priority of her’s along with her own survival. The community response was heart-felt and wholesome, as neighbors extended a hand to fellow neighbors, allowing some to stay in their homes if neighbor’s homes were destroyed by the storm, and local churches held food and necessity drives for those in desperate need. An entire community was deeply affected by a hurricane in one of the most unlikely places for a hurricane to happen which was rather odd.
This was my source where I found my information and where additional can be found. https://blogs.e4erelief.org/hurricane-helene-wrath-and-western-north-carolinas-indominable-heart?utm_source=chatgpt.com
This image from NPS (The National Park Service) shows the destruction on a part of the Blue Ridge Parkway. We can see a crew out there clearing debris. (https://www.nps.gov/blri/planyourvisit/helene-recovery-projects-at-a-glance.htm)
This image, also from NPS is a prime example of the destruction caused by the ground giving way underneath roads in western NC. (https://www.nps.gov/blri/planyourvisit/helene-recovery-projects-at-a-glance.htm)
My best friend goes to Montreat College in Black Mountain, NC, which was significantly impacted by Hurricane Helene on September 26, 2024. I remember talking to her right before the hurricane hit. She knew a storm was coming, but no one was prepared for how strong it would be.
The night the hurricane made landfall, I FaceTimed her. She and four of her friends were huddled in a dorm room, scared of what was happening outside. They stayed together for comfort. When they woke up the next morning, they explored the campus and saw widespread damage. The main, and only, road connecting Black Mountain to their campus was destroyed, leaving them completely cut off.
Her family tried to get her and her friends to bring them home, but they couldn’t even start the drive until about three days after the storm. When they finally made the trip, it took triple the usual time due to detours and damaged roads. By the time they picked her up, she had very limited resources.
She is also on the wrestling team and their season was affected also. While classes were still on hold, the team went and stayed at Gardner-Webb University to use their facilities and continue to prepare for matches. Their facilities are still under renovation, and they are practicing in different buildings on campus for the foreseeable future.
Montreat College resumed in-person classes on October 24, 2024, almost a month after Hurricane Helene hit. Ten campus buildings were affected. McAlister Gymnasium was the athletic building and it is still closed for renovations. A special Candlelight Service and Celebration Dinner marked the return to campus. The college continues to raise money to support the students and families affected. Throughout the aftermath, her campus provided daily updates on a website that tracked their response to the hurricane. You can see the stream of updates here: Montreat College Hurricane Helene Impact.
There has been some misinformation about climate-related topics and the recovery efforts of hurricane Helene. Former governor Cooper has stated that “Misinformation is a grave threat in the aftermath of a storm like Helene.” False claims after a natural disaster tend to surge because they say that what caused the hurricane is climate change, global hoaxes, energy weapons, and arson. Also, in today’s age, A.I.-generated images are also a threat on social media. People see those images and they believe that they are true. But this is nothing new, back in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit, there was lots of misinformation regarding the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which led to lots of criticism toward the agency. Local governments officials and volunteers say that its difficult to see and read all the social media posts because they see firsthand how the Tennessee National Guard distribute supplies. This is something that people who misinform others through the media don’t want us to see. The following image shows the Black Hawk pilot distributes supplies in eastern Tennessee.
2. A massive amount of people in NC were affected by Hurricane Helene, with an estimated 16% or 1,760,064 people being affected (1). Overwhelmingly it was the socially vulnerable that were most affected by Hurricane Helene. The area affected by the hurricane according to NC and Federal statistics is disproportionately old, poor, rural, and disabled. Approximately 64% (1) of the affected population in NC is from an unincorporated community., many of which do not have robust or systemic recovery/development infrastructure. The impact to these communities are additionally tied to their lower economic attainment, with the areas most affected being very poor with lower community resistance compared to the rest of NC (2). 15.4% of the affected population lived in a mobile home compared to 12% for the rest of NC (2). 15.9% of the affected population had some sort of disability compared with the 13.5% for the rest of the state (2). 21.9% of the affected were over 65 years of age compared with a state average of 17.4% (2). Finally, in affected populations 22.6% of the population had 3 or more components of social vulnerability compared with 20.5% for the rest of the state. Overall, the areas that have been affected within NC are some of those least equipped to handle this disaster.
While some of us are not directly affected by the devastation in Western North Carolina by Hurricane Helene, it is without a doubt still important to know and care about the efforts that go into the recovery. There are many organizations and groups working to support western carolina. You can find these organizations by going here or doing more research online. The NC Dept. of Insurance has a long list of things that people can do if they need help directly, such as a shelter database link, disaster insurance, and emergency housing contacts.
There are numerous other ways to help then going online and donating money. Some of our friends who are involved in a fraternity at State, organized food and clothes donations and drove up to the Mountains themselves. Many stores have excess change jars next to their cash registers, some ask if you want to round up. NC State, along with other universities, businesses, churches, and communities have organized drives to send relief to the victims of Helene.
FEMA has also been a large part of the continuous recovery efforts. So far over $372 million has gone to families for housing, repairs, and other necessities. Thousands have stayed in temporary housing, while more than 50 million in unemployment aid has helped those who lost work. FEMA has also cleared 4 million cubic yards of debris and provided funding to rebuild roads and public infrastructure. Crews are still visiting the residence homes and helping them apply for assistance. Although it is going to take years to recover, the support is not stopping anytime soon.
