NEWLAND — With the devastation sparked by Hurricane Helene, the damage has garnered attention on a local, state and national level.
Over the past week, several notable state leaders have directly set foot in Avery County to check on its infrastructure, its heroes and people.
NC Speaker of the House, Rep. Tim Moore, accompanied by Avery’s NC House Representative Dudley Greene, was on hand Wednesday, Oct. 2, in Avery County to get a firsthand look at the damage left behind by the turbulent path of Hurricane Helene. Moore recognized the crippling destruction of the storm on the area, but also complimented the resilience of the county and its residents.
“This is the most organized operation that I have seen anywhere in the state, and I’ve been around a lot of places. The way that this is arranged, the way that the pre-planning came in no doubt saved lives, and the folks in Avery County should be very proud of the work that’s happening here,” Moore said. “Rep. Greene has been here a lot. His whole family’s pitching in, and he has been very vocal with us in Raleigh about what resources are needed here, and we’re going to make sure that the folks here know that they’re not gonna be forgotten. They’re gonna be taken care of. Then the next stage after this recovery operation is going to be the rebuilding. There’s a lot to rebuild and it’s going to have to happen everywhere, from road to infrastructure to getting people’s homes restored and livelihoods, and we’re committed at the state level to do all we can and make that happen.”
Moore shared that the General Assembly is convening next week in Raleigh with intent on passing a major disaster relief package which includes funding and expedited resources for the region and state.
Avery native Greene was also moved by the compassion and the exceedingly overwhelming spirit of community he has witnessed in the days following Helene’s havoc.
“The way people have come together and worked together dealing with things like getting power restored, getting services back restored and the roads back opened up, it’s been yeoman’s work getting food out to people and trying to meet those needs,” Greene added. “I’ll also say how much we appreciate the outside resources coming in here to help, volunteers rolling in with chainsaws and equipment. It’s very heartwarming and I appreciate those out there that are thinking of us.”
As soon as the storm ended, the recovery situation quickly became a neighbors helping neighbors effort, which soon transitioned to many local and federal organizations coming in to help assist with said efforts.
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper made a visit on Thursday, Oct. 3, visiting Ashe, Watauga, and Avery counties. Cooper spent the day meeting with community and business leaders to discuss relief and recovery efforts, also meeting with those affected by the storm and thanking emergency personnel and volunteers for their continued hard work.
“Today, I met with hundreds of people in Ashe, Avery, and Watauga counties and heard about the help they are getting and still need,” said Cooper. “The resilience, compassion, and determination of the people of Western North Carolina is inspiring and we will continue working around the clock to get them the help they need.”
The day before Cooper’s visit, President Joe Biden approved 100% FEMA reimbursement for six months. President Biden also approved Governor Cooper’s request for active-duty military personnel and equipment to support ongoing operations in Western North Carolina. Military helicopters, personnel, and other equipment have already been deployed. More than 1,000 North Carolina National Guard are currently deployed, conducting search and rescue missions and distributing food, water, and other supplies. In order to ensure that all resources are available for use in the response to Hurricane Helene, Governor Cooper issued Executive Order 316, which permits the use, sale, and distribution of dyed diesel fuel for highway use.
Governor Cooper first made his appearance in Avery County by stopping by the EOC and greeting all emergency workers and personnel before making his way to “Dogtown” or Minneapolis to assess damages in one of the most impacted areas in the county.
Cooper was introduced to Bob and Edwina Tatum, who explained what the flood was like for them and the damages that followed suit. Cooper then took a walk through town, where he saw where the river had claimed much of the land in Minneapolis, including the area where a local family’s home was pulled off the mountain and into the river before moving on to the next county.
The following Saturday, Oct. 5, North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson made his second appearance in Avery County since the flood. Like Cooper, Robinson first stopped by the EOC recognizing all essential workers on hand before making the drive to the lower end of the county. Robinson first stopped at Minneapolis Baptist Church where he was greeted by some volunteers helping with clean up at the church. Robinson also made stops at the Frank Volunteer Fire Department, Spear Country Store, Green Valley Volunteer Fire Department, and Temple Baptist Church.
At each location Robinson was greeted by a crowd of cheers, where he would also make a short speech, giving words of encouragement to all those “neighbors helping neighbors”. “This is when it counts. The silver lining in all this tragedy and destruction is this shows the strength and resilience of the people in North Carolina. We don’t quit when we get knocked down, in the worst of times we do not quit,” said Robinson when speaking at Minneapolis. At each location, Robinson spent time talking with citizens, emergency workers, and kids. Robinson also dedicated some time to getting photos taken with those who wished to.
The AJT spoke with both the governor and lieutenant governor regarding Helene and Avery County.
When asked about their general assessments of the situation here, Governor Cooper responded, “There’s no question that this devastation is unprecedented but that’s why it requires an unprecedented response. I think what we’re seeing here is a community, particularly here in Avery County where I’ve talked to a lot of people, who have come together and understand that we all have to work together to bring this area back, that is so special to so many people. Although there is deep sadness, there is a lot of optimism that Western North Carolina will come back.”
“My initial thoughts on a purely professional level, I think the state needs to do a much better job on assessing different parts of the state,” Robinson responded. “You know a hurricane out here looks a whole lot different than it does out east or even where I am down in the flat lands of Greensboro, High Point into Winston. We need to have comprehensive plans, and when I say comprehensive plans I’m talking about detailed plans. I’m talking the same way they do it in the civilian world. We went to see the operations of Samaritan’s Purse and saw how detailed those operations were and we need to mimic those things at the state level and make sure we have detailed plans for each part of the state that have unique needs of each part of the state.”
Both leaders touted the work being done by the many people on the ground in Avery.
“Amazing teamwork with state, federal, nonprofit, and people of faith coming together to help others,” Gov. Cooper said. “I heard a number of out-of-state people who are here to help say how amazing the people of Avery County were. One officer mentioned he had done a lot of different disasters in a lot of different states, and said that the people here are the best he’d ever seen.”
“You can’t say enough about it. You just can’t say enough about the people that are doing the work,” Robinson said. “Whether it’s our state workers like DOT, National Guard, Sheriff’s departments, or volunteers. Volunteers have done been hard at work, giving up their time, their money, their energy their efforts. The movement here on the ground is what’s making things go round and round. Folks who desperately need help in this state are the most critical areas they’ve been helped by volunteers. The Hickory Municipal Airport, a whole volunteer fleet of helicopters, fifty thousand dollars a day these people are donating a day for fuel to gland rescue people, take them medicines all those good things. The efforts we see on the ground is great, but we do need to take a look on the government end, and we have some serious questions about that.”
Both leaders offered messages of encouragement and hope to the people of Avery and the High Country post-Helene.
“There are a lot of people of faith that have pulled together to help their neighbors,” Cooper said. “When you have good people like this coming together for a cause, good things are going to happen and we want to do our part to do everything we can to help this area recover. The High Country and Avery County have my 100 percent commitment to doing everything we can to help recover.”
“The one thing that I would tell them to be most encouraged about the most is themselves. Look at the work they have done, the volunteers, the way they filled up fire stations and churches. The way we have driven through here and seen provisions on the side of the road, free water, free diapers. Their work is what really energized this, and it’s going to be their work that’s going to pull us out of this,” Robinson noted. “And so I would tell them to be encouraged by the fact that North Carolina is strong and we have this spirit of Appalachia that exists up here that pulls people through these difficult times, and I’d say more than anything, they need to know they are the ones that is helping this move along. They are the movement, the energy, and spirit that is helping this recovery, and were going to do everything that we can as elected officials to assure they have what they need to keep right on going to rebuild.”
Gov. Cooper spoke to the work that can be done in Raleigh to bring relief to local North Carolinians affected by the storm.
“It’s going to take a lot. It is going to take billions of dollars to rebuild Western North Carolina and to make sure we get the resources we need during this time. So first we need to make sure and secure every avenue of federal resources and getting 100 percent FEMA reimbursement from the president was a big step,” Cooper said. “Then we go to the General Assembly, and I know they stand ready to help and fill in the gaps of the federal. We know that even those two sources of revenue cover all of the damages so we know we got to marshall our nonprofit churches and others to fill in the gaps even more because there is a lot of loss.”
“I just want to send out a tremendous thank you to each and every single solitary volunteer,” Robinson shared. “There are people out there volunteering who have lost everything and still get up every day wearing the same clothes day after day who are helping people who are in even worse shape.”
Both state officials expressed their condolences for the loss the Appalachian people have seen here in Avery County and the High Country. Both also expressed they would be back in the immediate area soon to continue their efforts in helping assess the damage and assess needs as the needs are changing on a daily basis.
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