Hurricane Helene Efforts

HH Relief Update—10/7/2024

--Zeke Vanderpool, MPMC Relief Effort Coordinator

It has been eleven days since the fury of Hurricane Helene first reached the mountains of northeast Tennessee and western North Carolina. Since that moment, so much has happened that it is impossible to capture in a quick update, but I will try and give the Cliff’s Notes here and provide perspective from what we have experienced on the ground in the affected area.

I was actually driving into the mountains of North Carolina on Thursday evening, September 26th, when the rains arrived. By the time I crossed the Continental Divide on I-40, it was apparent that this was not going to be a typical weather event. To be honest, I didn’t even realize that I had crossed the mountain. The rain was so heavy and intense that I was driving at about thirty miles per hour and could only see the road directly in front of my car. I did not feel the crest of the mountain as I crossed over and began the descent. I only felt the incredible pressure of what seemed like an impossible volume of water roaring from the heavens upon the car. Only when I saw the first runaway truck ramp did I realize I was halfway down the mountain, approaching Old Fort.

That set the stage for what was to come—a catastrophic assault from the water and wind that I don’t think anyone could have anticipated. The next morning before daylight, as the streams and river in Marion began to rage and the wind arrived with a fury of its own, I made my way from my wife’s parents’ home to Statesville and linked up with Mary Millsaps, my partner and fellow co-founder of our non-profit (Operation Angel Wing) and her husband, Todd. We headed on to Rocky Mount for a meeting with local officials regarding mental health and suicide prevention training for their community and First Responder agencies. As we returned to Statesville that afternoon, we came face to face with a new reality regarding the region that I had just traveled through. There was no longer any way in or out of Marion, as it was now considered a catastrophic disaster zone. The same reality applied to Asheville, and so many of the counties and towns in the surrounding area. The same stretch of I-40 that I had traveled between TN and NC now belonged to the river, and there was zero communication throughout the entire region. Landslides were claiming homes and dams were overflowing and in danger of catastrophic failure. Rivers were exceeding the five-hundred-year flood markers. If you can imagine an apocalyptic setting in the rugged mountains, this was it. No need for zombies—mother nature handled it all by herself.

First order of business was to track down loved ones and try and get a status. All cell phone service was gone. Power poles were snapped like toothpicks and phone and power lines either lay across the roads or trailed out in tangled masses under bridges in the raging water. There was zero contact with my wife’s parents and her ninety-five-year-old aunt in Marion, or her sister, who lives near Marshall. Thousands of people were in the same nightmare.

My daughter, back in our hometown of Andersonville TN, was able to make contact through Messenger with a neighbor of my wife’s parents in Marion. She was able to confirm that they were okay and actually still had power (they were in the only part of town that never lost electricity). But there was still no communication with my wife’s sister near Marshall. I drove to Virginia from Statesville on I-77, then followed I-81 down and was able to find my way into Marshall from the north. I just kept trying roads and turning around when they became impassable from fallen trees and telephone poles. Once I found Becca and knew that she was okay, I made sure she had supplies and backtracked through the in-roads that I had discovered and headed home to Andersonville.

Less than an hour later I was on I-40 near Knoxville. I was clear of the floods and wreckage but consumed by the question of what to do next. I realized that I hadn’t had a real meal in two days, but then felt guilty when I pulled into a restaurant that had power and food.

I contacted Robin Kyek, pastor of Mount Pleasant Methodist Church (MPMC), my family’s place of worship in Andersonville, TN. I gave her and her husband, Jon, a status check as we had been in contact off and on throughout the last few days. They did not hesitate—by that evening, Jon had the church’s website updated with a relief page and funding options. We networked with everyone we could, and by Wednesday, October 2nd we had two vehicle loads of supplies ready to roll. That night, I put a beef brisket and two Boston butt roasts on the smoker. They were packed in a cooler and ready to roll the next morning with the supplies.

We arrived in Marion on Thursday and rallied at my wife’s parents’ home. The weather was beautiful. The damage that it illuminated was heart breaking. After assessing the best approach through connections in the community, we drove to Grace Community Church, in Old Fort. Their community was hit hard, and they had established a very effective outreach center. They were living proof that the local resources can be the most effective in times of need; they know the ground truth and have the connections and hearts to make the most necessary things happen. And they don’t care about the red tape—they just do the right thing. We knew that God had done His thing and put us in the right place. The crew at Grace was truly grateful for the warm, fresh food to feed their volunteers, and the two vehicle loads of needed supplies for their community. That was our first drop.

To get home, we had to go north and cut across 25 through Marshall and Mars Hill. I noticed a Fire Department command post that was set up at a small community college as we approached the eastern edge of Marshall. Listening to my gut, I pulled into the parking lot and introduced myself. Again, I found myself in the midst of a wonderful group of people doing an amazing job with zero federal assistance—simply doing the best they could with what they had. The small Fire Department of Ebbs Chapel had lost their entire facility and most of their equipment when the French Broad River devastated their town, less than a week ago. But here they were with a makeshift command post, handing out whatever supplies they had to their community, one family and one person at a time. I spent some time with them. I got to know their situation and their people. I figured out the specific items that would most help the people of their community. And then I headed home, knowing where the next load was coming to.

We put out the new supply list at MPMC, and also published it on our website. By Sunday, there were donated goods piled up in our sanctuary and in the backs of our members vehicles as they arrived for service. As soon as service was over, we loaded a truck completely full and headed for Ebbs Chapel. Again, I had a cooler with smoked brisket and pork roasts to boot. We even had enough donations coming in through the website to cover fuel costs for the trip.

We were met with smiles and appreciation on all fronts. They had not had a good meal in days, and the supplies we brought were right on the mark. We spent time with them, listened to their challenges (which are many), and updated the necessary needs list for our next trip. That was our second drop, just yesterday as I am writing this.

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As of today, our church is now receiving donations that are allowing us to increase our supply load and convoy footprint as we continue this mission. By remaining plugged in and building relationships with the local people as we go, we are able to identify precise needs and fill gaps. There is no doubt that this effort is having a direct impact, one supply run and one load of fresh, hot food at a time. These efforts may seem small in the midst of a massive crisis, but God knows what he is doing and he puts us right where we need to be every time we cross into that devastated region.

Our promise is that we will continue these efforts as long as our resources allow, and the need exists. We will seek out people and places who seem abandoned by the larger resources, identify exactly what they need, and take it to their doorstep. Every penny that is donated to this effort will go to supporting this effort.

There is no doubt in my mind that at some point, probably in coming weeks, the focus will need to pivot from survival and immediate resources to rebuilding and resilience—two separate fronts. We’ll be ready to plug in on that level as well, collaborating with Operation Angel Wing to begin the healing process. That will take resources as well, and my hope is that people will donate to OPAW as well as MPMC. These are two resources that we know without a doubt are trusted and will make a real difference. I have no doubt that God will have his hand on both organizations.

In the meantime, we’ll be headed that way again this coming weekend with another load.

--Zeke Vanderpool