EBTJV message about Hurricane Helene
Image from Maryland Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team shared on Facebook
On behalf of the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture, our hearts and thoughts are with colleagues, conservation partners, friends, and their families and communities following the devastation of Hurricane Helene.
Across six southern states, millions remain without power and over 160 lives have been lost. In the southern Appalachian mountains, towns and rivers were hit by as much as 30 inches of rain. Many homes, businesses, and infrastructure – transportation, water, sewer, phone, and other avenues for basic needs – have been demolished. In Asheville, North Carolina, the public water system was damaged leaving the city and portions of two nearby counties without reliable clean water for weeks to come. The same may be true of hundreds of other water utilities supplying millions of people. Untold numbers of people are unaccounted for as the loss of roads and bridges stranded entire neighborhoods, communications are still slow, and cell coverage is nonexistent in many places.
We are heartened to hear stories of people and organizations stepping in from near and far, sometimes putting themselves in harm’s way to save lives. The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission’s Swift Water Rescue Team, for example, was “literally swimming into folk’s homes rescuing them from imminent drowning”, according to a social media post. Many of our colleagues at state, federal, Tribal, and local organizations are helping with debris clean up and other aid, and some have been displaced or are repairing damage to their own property.
The toll of this storm is unthinkable and still unfolding. We can’t imagine the heartbreak that people are experiencing right now. As we look to an uncertain future, our ability to remain connected through clean water, well-planned infrastructure, and people who help each other as neighbors of any scale, is more important than ever. But, as people grieve lost homes and loved ones, today is the time for support.
Please do not travel to impacted areas unless you or your family resides there. However if you would like to help, you could donate to the North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund (nc.gov/donate), the American Red Cross (redcross.org), East Tennessee Foundation’s Neighbor to Neighbor Disaster Relief Fund (www.easttennesseefoundation.org), or consider looking at websites and Facebook pages of individual towns across the southeast to see what resources local communities are requesting and suggesting.
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