Helen cut a treacherous path through the mountains of western North Carolina, dumping more than 2 feet of extreme rain in some places and causing devastating flash flooding. Many areas are in ruins. There are fallen trees everywhere. Roads, bridges, and driveways will be washed away. Floods and landslides destroyed homes and businesses.
We provide relief efforts throughout Watauga County, North Carolina, where Samaritan’s Purse’s international headquarters are located in Boone. The response has also spread to neighboring counties in North Carolina and eastern Tennessee.
Southwest of Boone, the river raged out of its banks, causing widespread destruction in and around Asheville, North Carolina. Our response there extends around Buncombe County, including Asheville, Black Mountain, Montreat, and Swannanoa.
“Our hearts break for all those affected by Hurricane Helen. People lost their homes, roads were washed away, millions lost power, and loved ones were lost. So many of our neighbors are hurting. Thank you that we can respond and help in the name of Jesus. Please pray for our team.” —Franklin Graham
Samaritan’s Purse also serves some of Western North Carolina’s many medical needs. We deployed a 20-bed emergency field hospital at Cannon Memorial Hospital in Linville, designed as an emergency room triage unit. The facility is staffed by Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) medical staff. We also provide oxygen in various locations to support people without power.
Many communities in the rugged mountains of North Carolina and far eastern Tennessee have been torn apart by Helen’s devastation. Samaritan’s Purse is coordinating air relief to some of these areas, using its own helicopters and aircraft from other organizations to deliver basic necessities to people in dire situations. . We praise God for being able to bring food, water, and other relief supplies to those stranded by the storm.
We are also responding to the destruction caused by Helen in Florida and Georgia. The U.S. has disaster relief bases in Perry, Florida, where the Category 4 hurricane made landfall, and Tampa, where thousands of homes were flooded. South Georgia was also condemned. We established a base in Valdosta.
Volunteers are urgently needed at all of our locations. Please continue to pray for all those affected by the storm and for our team who serve as the hands and feet of Jesus.
More than 190 people have been reported dead from the storm, with many more missing. Katrina is the only hurricane in the past 50 years that has killed more people in the United States. Please pray for the families who have lost loved ones.
