WNC update – The damage is Biblical and the suffering is severe

The situation in Western North Carolina, which we reported on Saturday morning, is only now beginning to become clear. The rain from what was left of Hurricane Helene was devastating. Towns like Swannanoa and Black Mountain have been almost completely destroyed. Asheville has been cut off because all the highways into the city are not only flooded, but broken and washed out in several places. The French Broad River is 20 feet above flood stage and has reportedly not yet reached crest. Boone also suffered heavy damage.

In short, everything is ruined or washed away. Homes, power, water, internet, cell service – it’s all gone and it could take a very long time to come back (Starlink could help restore communications, but even that obviously depends on power, and fixing the lines will last longer without functional pathways).

There is no way yet to know how many people have died, but reports are grim.

Here’s the other bad part: the people of Western NC have very little food. The weather begins to turn and they have very little shelter, let alone warm (or even clean) clothes and bedding.

They can’t really get out, help can’t really come in yet and it will get worse before it gets better.

The stories are numerous and Katrina comparisons have emerged. Here, ETSU football coach Tre Lamb talks about how he can somehow get to Charleston to play at The Citadel on Saturday. Listen to this – it’s amazing they even tried – it was a harrowing journey. To get back to Johnson City, Lamb says they’ll have to loop around North Carolina and Virginia and then cross over, which will be a very, very long bus ride.

WNC can’t count on the Cajun Navy or boats coming in, partly because of geography and partly because the roads are so bad. Unfortunately, they can’t get close enough to do much. It’s probably hard for them to accept this because they’ve done brilliant work in other disasters around the country.

The damage reports continue to pour in. Haywood City lies destroyed. Canton saw a flood level of 25.82 from the Pigeon River. Hendersonville is flooded, so is Cullowhee.

The area has also seen mudslides, sinkholes and tornadoes. It just seems endless and, as some people have said, Biblical in scope.

This video comes from Tennessee and is absolutely terrifying. One of the dangers of flooding that most people don’t realize is debris, and by debris we don’t mean the big stuff, although that is certainly dangerous. The small pieces are just as dangerous, if not more so, because they can get into your eyes and make you unable to see. And then the big things and the currents will have their way.

The immediate problems will be finding shelter and food for the displaced. Governor Ron DeSantis, who has his own Helene problems, has kindly sent planes to North Carolina to help with emergency relief. You don’t have to like him or agree with his politics to be grateful, because the help is desperately needed.

We ask again: if you can afford to help, if you can help in any way on the ground, for example in your church, synagogue or mosque, please do so. There are cold and hungry people in the western part of our state who are growing desperate. There are children who have lost their mothers and fathers and parents who have lost their children. There are bodies that need to be recovered and prepared for burial. We live in a time of political and social division, but it’s time to put all that aside and act like Americans.

It’s time to help, in any way you can.