As RedState has reported, the damage left behind by Hurricane Helene was nothing short of devastating for many communities in the southeast.
Western North Carolina was particularly hard hit by what was left of Helene, with massive amounts of rain that overwhelmed lakes and streams and caused widespread destruction. At least 35 have been confirmed dead with 600 said to be unaccounted for in Buncombe County as of this writing.
Viral video clips circulating on social media show roads that have been washed away, interstates that partially partially collapsed, businesses completely flooded, and homes and vehicles being swept away.
SEE ALSO: Hurricane Helene Makes a Hero of Weatherman Who Hears a Woman’s Screams From Her Submerged Car
No matter who is watching those clips and hearing the stories, it’s heartbreaking. But it is especially so for the people who call North Carolina home, and who might be wondering “Where do we go from here?”
There’s been a lot of talk about media coverage as well as the federal response, and Joe Biden and Kamala Harris being at the beach and swanky left coast campaign fundraisers respectively over the weekend while entire towns were underwater.
While I can’t speak to how much (if any) federal help is on the ground in western NC (and am disgusted by the indifference being shown by the Biden-Harris administration despite the federal disaster declarations and all that), I’d like to share a different perspective on the national media coverage in particular, the logistics of what’s going on in that part of the state, and what’s being done to help in terms of relief and rescue.
WCNC TV’s Brad Panovich is a longtime meteorologist here in Charlotte who is so respected and well-liked by just about everyone that he could probably get elected mayor if he wanted to. His appreciation and love for what he does, and his commitment to making sure this part of the country is informed, “weather aware,” and prepared for bad weather are unquestionable.
After disaster strikes, he’s usually one of the ones on the air and social media day and night getting the word out on areas to avoid, places that need help, how to get/send help, debunking fake stories, etc.
That’s exactly what he’s done in the aftermath of Helene’s devastation, which also impacted parts of Charlotte and surrounding areas with flooding and downed trees/power lines.
Related to the frustration with how the national media are in some cases treating what happened here as nothing more than a bad storm and not a catastrophic event, Panovich provided some much-needed perspective in a video shared Sunday, telling stories of what he’d heard from trusted sources about what was happening on the ground in western NC, how it was near impossible to get coverage for some areas due to widespread power/wifi outages and lack of ability to get to those areas by any way other than air.
Perhaps the most important thing he noted was that relief supplies are in fact pouring in and are being dropped in by air, with the locals stepping up all over NC and the NC National Guard doing their thing as well (and with Guardsmen from states like Florida coming to the rescue, too – thank you, Gov. DeSantis!).
Further, utility crews and first responders are filtering in from all over the country to help with the relief and recovery efforts. He also said he was confident we’d see more coverage from the national press in the coming days as electricity, wifi, and road accessibility were restored in the places they could be.
In other words, hope is not lost. Not by far. Please watch and share so that the people in the impacted areas who are fortunate enough to get cell service can see it and pass the message along and, in the process, know that help is already there and that more is coming:
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