Murrells Inlet community jumps into action to help North Carolina woman, others affected by Helene

MURRELLS INLET, S.C. (WBTW) — When members of the Murrells Inlet community got word that Faye Shelton needed amid the destruction of Hurricane Helene, they didn’t hesitate to act.

Shelton, who’s from Asheville, North Carolina, but has a home in the Murrells Inlet area, decided to weather the storm on the Grand Strand while her husband, a U.S. Marines veteran, stayed at home in North Carolina.

“It’s total devastation,” she said on Sunday. “Friday morning, he called me at 2 a.m. and said my power just went off and there’s trees falling all around me, and then the phone went dead, and I haven’t spoke to him since.”

All across western North Carolina, trees are down, roads are washed away, and people can’t get necessities like water or diapers. Entire communities are underwater, interstate highways are washed away and people have no cell service to communicate whether they’re OK.

Shelton immediately put out a call for help on social media, and local business owner Robert Rosenblum was quick to answer. He offered up a truck and trailer to collect food, water, and other essentials to make the drive north. and people immediately started showing up to donate.

“We just put a sign out, and people were reading it, and people started calling people,” he said. “It was crazy”

With many roads impassable, Faye said she planned to sit in the truck and wait for however long it takes to get through. It’s her home, her community, and she said she will fight for it.

“Pray for us tonight, pray for us that we can get in there,” she said.

* * *

Hannah Huffstickler is a multimedia journalist at News13. She joined the News13 team in January 2024 after graduating from Coastal Carolina University in December of 2023. Keep up with Hannah on Facebook , X, formerly Twitter , and Instagram . You can also read more of her work here .

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBTW.