Murphy: Sustained recovery effort, prayer needed for Western NC

A Greenville congressman said the outpouring of support for western North Carolina communities devastated by Hurricane Helene must be sustained over what is expected to be a long road toward recovery.

U.S. Rep. Greg Murphy, who represents North Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District, visited western North Carolina on Tuesday alongside U.S. Sens. Ted Budd and Thom Tillis and U.S. Rep. David Rouzer of Wilmington and N.C. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler.

The group passed through a command station in Hickory, where Murphy said at least 20-25 private pilots flew helicopters to assist with recovery efforts. From there they went to the Asheville Regional Airport to get aerial views of the surrounding area. He said there are “a lot of good people” as well as “obvious confusion” amid relief efforts, but believes that work is moving in the right direction.

“There still are a lot of folks out in regions that are stranded and there are a lot of rescues going on,” Murphy said.

Murphy was involved in disaster relief efforts after a magnitude 7 earthquake in Haiti in 2010 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005. On Tuesday he visited near Canton, west of Asheville, where he observed marked differences in how eastern and western North Carolina’s terrain handles excessive water.

“Were we in the east, if we have a major hurricane flooding event we can park water and it takes awhile for the water to go down,” Murphy said. “If you have 50 acres and a foot of water, it just sits on the farm. There, it comes down the mountain in a torrent, concentrates in a gully culvert and then with great speed and very fast movement of water, is a lot more damaging in the immediacy. It drains off a lot quicker, but it really can take out structures, cause landslides, really do a lot more immediate damage than the floods we see.”

The Associated Press reported as of Wednesday at least 176 people have been killed across six states, including at least 57 in and around Asheville and the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Murphy said despite the difference in terrain, aspects of relief like resource gathering remain the same. He said residents need diapers, hygiene items, food and water just as they would after a storm in Greenville.

“You can extrapolate some of what we’ve learned in the east, but then it’s a whole new venture when you go out west,” Murphy said.

Gov. Roy Cooper viewed the area with President Joe Biden on Wednesday. He said hundreds of thousands of pounds of food, water and other supplies are being deployed to the region. He said FEMA has delivered about 1 million liters of water and over 600,000 meals to the cause as of Tuesday.

Cooper said that Department of Transportation crews are at work clearing debris to reopen roads. He said hundreds of people have been rescued at this point and also praised the response of President Joe Biden’s administration, who he said approved assets from Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville and Fort Liberty in Fayetteville to assist the efforts. More than 1,000 National Guard member now have been deployed to the area as well.

Murphy said Wednesday that washed out roads have hampered access to some communities, making helicopters essential. He said rescue efforts and providing vital resources are the immediate need. In the long term, he expects rebuilding communities to take “many, many years” due to washed out roads, homes, developments and businesses.

“Our nation is not new to relief and this is why we have a union of states where New York can come help us and we can come help them in times of need,” Murphy said. “Pressing on that to my colleagues is going to be critical.”

Back east, Murphy urges residents to seek out reputable, substantiated organizations if they wish to provide aid to their western neighbors. Pitt County entities including churches, Greenville Fire-Rescue, the Pitt County Sheriff’s Office and Greenville Police Department have dispatched supplies and manpower to the west in recovery efforts.

“I’m a person of prayer, I’m a person of faith and I think prayer is always the first thing you should do,” Murphy said. “I think the people of western North Carolina have always come to our aid when we’ve had hurricanes and so now it’s time for us to return the favor. Not just today, not just tomorrow, not in a week but in the months to come.”