Central Ohioans continue helping Helene victims

COLUMBUS, Ohio ( WCMH ) — More than a week after flooding from Hurricane Helene devastated parts of western North Carolina, central Ohioans continue to lend a hand in the area.

One of the people who’s been helping out is Brian Butler. For the last week, he’s been cleaning with others and been with a group getting essentials to those still cut off.

“I just looked at my wife and I said I’m going to throw everything I can, I’ve got a Jeep truck, I’m going to throw everything I can in the back of that to help with what I could possibly face and I’m going to head down,” Butler said.

He and his family live in Powell but western North Carolina is special to him; he grew up taking family trips there and now has a cabin about 30 miles west of Asheville.

“It is a polarizing roller coaster of emotion,” he said.

As soon as he realized how hardd the area was hit, he decided to make the trip down. His property was spared the worst so his focus has been on others.

“When you see what I’ve seen you can’t turn around and go home” he said.

There are others from the Columbus area assisting as well. Nick Miller and his roofing company collected supplies in Pickerington last week. He said they ended up with 15,000 pounds of essentials. They dropped them off Monday afternoon in North Carolina.

“The drive was, it was hard not to tear up the whole way, absolutely unbelievable, when people can come together for something good like this, it’s unbelievable to see,” Miller said.

Butler hopes people continue to help several weeks and months from now.

“If everybody can do a little bit, it’ll help. These are strong people, but they have been really decimated. And if everybody helps them a little bit, they’ll get through it,” he said.

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