10/05/2024
LIVING IN APPALACHIA AFTER HURRICANE HELENE
First of all I want to say thank you to those who have loaded supplies onto airplanes or given in some way to help the victims of Hurricane Helene.
I will share with you what it's been like living here this last week. I live in Johnson City, TN. The towns of Erwin and Elizabethton, a 15-minute drive to either side, are disaster zones. The community I lived in last year in NC has been leveled.
I’m heartbroken over the devastation around me. Tears easily fall whenever I talk about it. I have so many questions like, why weren’t we evacuated? We were told to stay home because there could be flash floods. Flash floods? A whole family in Erwin was swept away in a house. It’s very sobering to realize that it could have just as easily been my family. My home is untouched, and I am grateful.
Again the government told us, "Stay home. If you try to help you will get in the way of the search and rescue teams." My community tries to help without getting in the way of search and rescue. We collect donations at our schools and churches for affected people we know personally. I don’t drive the 15 minutes to see the devastation. I can wait until I’m sure I’m not in anyone’s way. It felt unfair to continue with my daily routine while knowing there were those stranded not far from me.
I check on my friends in Newland and Spruce Pine, NC where I lived last year for 1 year. Only some have phone service. I can’t reach some and don’t know if they are alive.
Some have no water. Others have no electricity. Others don’t have either. Feeling overwhelmed is something common among all of us it seems.
A week after the disaster, I read online about the tragedies in places I know so well. I get accredited by the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Organization. I am now on call for them. I am a physician assistant. I so badly want to help, and not just stay home . . .
Finally, volunteers are requested.
It is beautiful to see people come together. I love the story of the car bridge that washed away, but not the foot bridge. The people on the one side of the bridge asked those on the other side what they could bring to them.
Shortly after the storm, a tenant in my friends’ apartment building in NC started grilling with charcoal. He cooked everyone’s meat for them until he ran out of charcoal. No one had any electricity, which meant no refrigeration or stoves. He didn’t just save his charcoal for himself. Everyone ate meat that day. Pray for the families that live paycheck to paycheck and won’t be working for months. Some bills are still due.
The school my boys attended last year is cooking food for the community on camping stoves. The stores that survived the storm only have non-perishables since there’s no electricity. My friend Carla risked the bad roads and drove up to Tenessee to get supplies. However, she returned to her house with no electricity. Her niece has no electric, water, or cell service; so Carla feels thankful. However, it’s tough to eat well without refrigeration or a stove. No one knows how long these conditions will last. To make matters worse, she has a chronic illness and can’t get in touch with her doctor to get her medicine.
My Pastor from NC evacuated his family at some point last weekend. I now live an hour from my friends in Newland, NC. The roads between here and there have fluctuated between being opened and closed due to mudslides. When the road is open next Tuesday, I will drive to my old neighborhood in NC. My church in NC has collected supplies I will help to distribute. I will also take my own supply run for specific requests from isolated friends.
Carla needs a generator, and there are many more like her. How many others are alone and unsure how to make it in these circumstances? If you’d like to give, you can do so online at thedreamproject.org under donate.
The stories of loss are too poignant. And no words can describe the beautiful testimonies of love in action.
Please Pray. Please pray for our communities here. Pray for healing from the pain and loss. Pray that we are all led to Jesus, our only hope in this world. My church in NC had a candlelight service this week. Light in the darkness.
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
Psalm 61
With Much Love,
Julia
Founding Director, The Dream Project
I plan to continue to post about living in Appalachia. Follow me if you'd like to receive.
This video is from Johnson City and Erwin, TN.
https://www.foxweather.com/weather-news/erwin-tennessee-flood-deaths-missing-implant-plastics
