Convoy of Hope discusses Helene response, what they’ve seen

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — “I’ve been with Convoy of Hope for almost six years now. I will say this this disaster, this hurricane in the Carolinas, the force of the destruction is some of the worst I’ve ever seen,” Eric Gordon said.

Gordon is in Asheville, North Carolina as part of Convoy of Hope’s response to Hurricane Helene.

“Our journey began about 24 hours before Helene made landfall. [Before] we went to Florida, we stayed in Mississippi, until the storm passed and then we moved in and to the Florida area. It wasn’t long after we kind of got in that impact zone where it made landfall and we started hearing about all the catastrophic damage through Georgia and the Carolinas,” Gordon said. “The journey began in Florida, but it is taking us through Georgia now, the Carolinas and Tennessee.”

He says the path left behind Helene is unusual.

“This one probably, as more for a hurricane response, more emotion tied to it. It’s not that [other hurricanes] didn’t have a motion tied to it, but the emotion in the Carolinas is different because hurricanes don’t hit here like that,” Gordon said. “Generational homes have swept down the river. [There’s a] sense of shock because they’ve never had to experience something like this before. This is very, very unique. I would say the emotions of this is pretty high, but it’s hard to kind of contrast and compare between other disasters.”

They’ve been able to give supplies to those in need as they go.

“We’ve been set up in Asheville, North Carolina, doing our distributions. As people pull up into the lot before you even greet them, just walking up to the car and seeing tears well up in their eyes,” Gordon said. “There’s this sense of hopelessness and the people that they don’t know what the next steps will bring. They don’t know what the next few days are going to bring, but in this moment, they get up a pack of water, they get food. They don’t have to cook. They can eat right away. It really changes their whole demeanor.”

Supplies continue to move out of Springfield’s World Distribution Center daily.

“Relief supplies from Convoy of Hope are going out on a daily basis. Since the hurricane, we’ve already sent out about 100 truckloads of supply. That’s 100 semis full of relief supplies, water and sports drinks and groceries and hygiene items. Cleaning supplies are needed right now as people try to clean up after the storm, after the floodwater got into their homes, those who still have homes to get into. It’s been constant here,” Ethan Forhetz said.

Forhetz was in North Carolina last week, with plans to return in several days.

“The damage was immense. I mean, I can’t even explain how awful it was to be there to be in a neighborhood where days ago water was up past [the height of a semi] truck. I mean, it’s unbelievable what happened to them. So unexpected that that much rain could fall, and then in the mountains of North Carolina, it all comes to the low point, which is where those rivers and streams, where they’re used to being small. It was overwhelming, wiping away mobile homes, going through houses, destroying vehicles all together and livelihoods, businesses. It’s hard to imagine the terror that people had to be living through when that water was rising around their house and moving very, very swiftly. It had to be a horrifying experience for those people. I can only imagine, there are so many who are even still missing and the death toll continues to climb. It’s a heartbreaking situation,” Forhetz said. “There was one area that I would say the river on a normal day is smaller than the Finley River at the Mill in Ozark. Everybody can kind of picture that and the damage that happened from how wide and massive that river got. It was almost as wide as the Mississippi River, from what we could tell from the damage that was left behind. It was just unbelievable how high the water got and how fast it was moving, and water is just really an unstoppable force.”

Convoy of Hope plans on being in these areas until their help is no longer needed.

“Resources are coming in, and I believe it’s going to turn that hopelessness into hope. It’s going to turn that isolation and it’s going to make people feel loved and seen and welcomed,” Gordon said.

“We’re working now in six states to get that supply to people who need it, and the trucks just keep going delivering the supply because the need is massive,” Forhetz added.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOLR - OzarksFirst.com.