On waking up in a FEMA disaster zone: Reflections in the wake of Hurricane Helene

Wednesday, Sept. 27 was a bit misty. I knew rain was predicted for later in the day and the rest of the week, so in the morning, I took the dog for a walk at the local greenway. It was pretty and the leaves were just beginning to turn. The rain was soft and despite the damp in the air, my dog and I enjoyed the walk. Later in the day, the rains turned heavy, but Wednesday morning, the rain was a soft patter - no cause for alarm until later in the day. 

                                            Wednesday, Sept. 25 – the calm before Helene

Perhaps the tornado that touched down later that afternoon in a nearby town should have been more alarming sign of the devastation to come. But I grew up in tornado territory in Illinois, and though tornadoes are extremely rare in the Southern Appalachians, THIS tornado was small and did not devastate entire towns, as midwestern tornadoes have been known to do. 

Perhaps the tornado warning that screamed through our phones at 10:00 p.m. on Wednesday (9/25) about a potential tornado in our town should have been a hint of things to come - but the warning expired at 10:30 p.m. and we later learned that the extreme wind gusts never became a real tornado. 

We knew that Hurricane Helene was scheduled to hit land in Florida on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. We knew that we would likely see an impact. But we often see hurricanes that have blown up from the Gulf in our western North Carolina community. We know the mall parking lot will flood; we know there are apartment complexes that will flood. But generally, outside of downed trees and some flooding, our community has emerged from the recent hurricanes relatively intact. 

Not this time. By Wednesday evening, we were experiencing heavy rains and high winds. Thursday morning, the rain was gushing off the roof in ways I've never seen before. And Helene was not scheduled to arrive until Friday later in the day. 

                                            Thursday before dawn - a torrential downpour 

At 7:30 a.m. on Friday, we lost power. The wind was torrential; the rains pouring down like sheets. This was the third day of heavy rains. I've been in this house for nine years; in this town for 13 – and Friday was the first day I was terrified that the roof would blow off. As per Ray's Weather, our local weather station, by the time Helene left us, the community had seen rains of 15-20 inches in most areas. Some places had up to 30 inches in the three-day period from Wednesday to Friday. Gusts in the lower elevations ranged from 40 - 50 MPH, with some areas getting winds up to 100+ MPH. 

I have lived through tornados in the Midwest and other tropical storms in the Southern Appalachians, but I've never lived through anything as terrible as Helene before. 

On Saturday, we woke up to blue skies, though it turned to rain later in the day. We still didn't have electricity. About 75% of the area was without electricity. We had no idea what had happened outside of our neighborhood. We were lucky in my neighborhood - all the homes survived with minimal damage. We had several downed trees on our property – including a sturdy maple at the side of our driveway.

 

Our private road – the one road that accesses our neighborhood – was damaged; the water was like a blade taken to the side of the hill, shaving off land and trees and bushes. We have all applied for FEMA – and despite assertions to the contrary about the uselessness of FEMA made by the current president, we have received funds to help repair the private access road that goes in and out of our neighborhood. The process could definitely be improved - Helene struck our community during a time of multiple weather-related disasters and FEMA investigators were stretched very thing across multiple states. It should be noted that FEMA does not come to neighborhoods to fix the damage - they provide funding to locals to hire local contractors to fix things. While in WNC to visit communities damaged by Helene, our current president noted that he wants to get rid of FEMA and let states take care of any weather-related damage but that puts pressure on the states that are hit more frequently with environmental disasters like hurricanes, drought and fires. 

And my community was hit hard by Helene. While our electricity was restored within two days, some were without power for a month. At one point NCDOT issued a notice that said "all roads in western North Carolina were closed due to hurricane damage." More than 100 people died in the region, including two people in my county. 

We were among the lucky ones. Our home survived intact. We survived. The couple of downed trees on our property have been turned into firewood. It was inspiring to see people jump into action to provide food and water for those in need. We also have witnessed politicians use this traumatic and deadly experience to lie to the public about what had happened here. That was one of the most shocking things about the disaster - to see powerful people  manipulate the facts for their political benefit. 

When disaster hit my community, local businesses, people who lived on and off the mountain, churches and other nonprofits all sprang into action. FEMA arrived shortly after the skies cleared and they still have an office in our town. People are good, as Anne Frank noted in her diary. But some people are not "good." Some people will do anything to use a disaster to serve their own interests. And I will never forget the politicians who lied about the response to Hurricane Helene in an effort to gain votes and spread disinformation. We deserve far better.