After Hurricane Helene slammed into the Southeastern US, the governors in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Virginia said they are getting government assistance with their emergency response efforts, and most of the officials have praised the FEMA government action so far.
“It’s been superb,” said SC Gov. Henry McMaster. “We’re getting assistance, and we’re asking for everything we need.”
In hardest-hit North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper said Friday their priority is still search and rescue efforts, with 92 teams currently deployed who are still bringing people to safety. Meanwhile, supplies are being flown into Asheville, NC by the federal FEMA managers.
“They’ve delivered a million liters of water and 600,000 meals (and) we have sent out hundreds of pallets to 20 different locations throughout Western North Carolina.”
“It’s been amazing to see the work that’s going on,” said Cooper, describing it as an “unprecedented massive effort being coordinated among local, state, and federal governments and nonprofits.”
Angles with real wings
One of those nonprofits has become a key to both search-and-rescue and getting supplies to people without water or electricity. Operation Airdrop, a collection of aviators who fly into disaster zones, reported that its nationwide membership logged nearly 600 “missions” in the first two days in North Carolina and Tennessee.
“I’m retired. I’m available. So I came,” said Griffith who flew in his airplane from Ohio. (Watch the video below from WFMY.)
Operating from an airport in Hickory, NC, helicopter pilots—from privately owned choppers to US Army Hueys and Blackhawks—were buzzing in and out for days.
Several of the pilots helped move over 100 nursing home residents, some with dementia, that had been stuck in Burnsville, NC because the facilities were running out of resources, especially medicine.
Companies Showing Heart
Yesterday, FedEx flew in a Boeing 757 loaded with 60,000 pounds of humanitarian relief aid for western North Carolina, along with 3 trucks to help deliver them.
Honda has donated a half million dollars to the relief fund of the American Red Cross, which also received $1 million from Lockheed Martin.
Celebrities are getting involved too.
Dolly Parton, along with her theme parks, will partner with Walmart to provide significant donations to flood relief across Appalachia—with Walmart giving $10 million immediately, and Dolly making a personal donation of $1 million, telling reporters “We’re all here to mend these broken hearts.”
NFL quarterbacks Kirk Cousins and Baker Mayfield have donated $50,000 each to Team Rubicon, a Veteran-based nonprofit that deploys its crews of vets into natural disaster sites.
The NFL football family as a whole is also providing $8 million in support, led by contributions from the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Houston Texans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the NFL Foundation.
ALSO SEE: North Carolina Sports Come Together to Support Victims of ‘Unprecedented’ Hurricane Helene
A Temporary Fix for Electricity
The regional power company, Duke Energy, is implementing a temporary solution so Asheville neighborhoods without electricity don’t have to wait for their substation, which was ruined in the storm, to be “completely rebuilt”. The company said it will take them three to four months to replace this key piece of infrastructure.
Special crews drove in a 200,000-pound mobile substation from across North Carolina that will restore power to thousands, as soon as this weekend. Other mobile substations are also being mobilized in Western counties.
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