From OSV News:
Relief efforts are under way to help communities across western North Carolina reeling from the impacts of Tropical Storm Helene.
Unprecedented flooding from the storm swamped municipal water systems, washed away roads and downed utility lines — leaving many mountain communities cut off Sept. 27 and in critical need of emergency aid. At one point, authorities closed 400 roads deeming them unsafe for travel. AP reported Sept. 30 that supplies were being airlifted to the region around the isolated city of Asheville.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said it was “one of the worst storms in modern history for parts of North Carolina.”
As of Sept. 29, at least 36 deaths were reported in North Carolina due to the storm, according to media reports, and search and rescue operations continued through the weekend to locate hundreds who remain stranded or unaccounted for.
“Power is out everywhere and cellphone towers are down — and water is out in some places, too,” said Margaret Beale, principal of Immaculata School in Hendersonville, which was flooded and remains closed. “This really is a disaster. People can’t get out of their homes and may not have food or water.”
Parishioners, clergy and staff across the Diocese of Charlotte are rallying to provide help — uniting in prayer, raising money and collecting — and delivering — relief supplies.
“We pray for everyone who has been affected, especially for those who have been injured or lost loved ones, and for the communities in western North Carolina that are seeing total devastation,” said Msgr. Patrick Winslow, vicar general and chancellor of the Diocese of Charlotte.
Msgr. Winslow and other diocesan leaders have been contacting pastors in the affected areas to survey parishes’ immediate needs and evaluate how best to help as the sheer scale of destruction becomes clearer.
The diocese has also organized a drive to take emergency supplies from Charlotte to affected areas. An initial truckload of supplies was delivered Sept. 29 to Immaculate Conception Church in Hendersonville, where the community was in need of water, according to staff reports.
In Huntersville, some 400 St. Mark parishioners and surrounding community members quickly marshaled a drive for supplies of diapers, nonperishable goods and water that were airlifted and carted in trucks and trailers over the weekend to parishes in Waynesville, Hendersonville and elsewhere.
In Concord, St. James the Greater Parish is organizing a supply through the Concord airport for delivery to Western North Carolina as part of Operation Airdrop, a national organization that’s arranging aid relief for the region.
Other relief aid collections are being coordinated by local police and fire departments.
