Show a little faith in a weary town

Show a little faith in a weary town September 30, 2024

Horrifying, heart-breaking scenes from North Carolina and across the Southeast in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

This devastation isn’t only in low-lying coastal areas, but in places like Asheville — a mountain town hundreds of miles from the coast. More than 100 people are dead and many more are still missing, cut off from transportation and communication by flooded, washed-away roads, power outages, and cell-tower failures. Millions of people’s lives will never be the same:

The full picture of devastation is emerging from Hurricane Helene’s disastrous and deadly path through Western North Carolina.

Homes, businesses, roads, infrastructure, cell towers, and anything else in Helene’s path were washed away or severely damaged by raging flood waters and strong winds. For so many of the nearly 1 million residents in Western North Carolina’s beautiful mountains, the recovery process has barely begun.

Neighbors are trying to help one another and relief programs, both national and local, are mobilizing.

I’m an avid reader of the independent reporting from North Carolina-based The Assembly. The outlet produces mostly long-form pieces, but they’re covering this breaking news story too and you may want to follow their coverage. Here’s some of it:

A reminder that one candidate for president believes in both climate science and effective government. The other doesn’t. And he wants to get rid of NOAA and to privatize the National Weather Service.

"Eh, I can see someone hyperfixating on details like that trauma response honestly."

LBCF: Accidental honesty
"A comedy/tragedy has occurred: the doves who have taken over my bird feeder this year ..."

LBCF: Accidental honesty
"Wiki tells me the kid's name is Lionel Washington, that he converts to Christianity and ..."

LBCF: Accidental honesty
"Ah ha, now he can steer the conversation back to Waukegan hotel recommendations. Delightfully sneaky, ..."

LBCF: Accidental honesty

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