Hurricane Helene transformed the serene landscape of Asheville (North Carolina, Atlanta Region, New York Sector) and surrounding areas into a battleground against nature’s fury. As heavy rains poured down, even days before the hurricane arrived, rivers swelled to dangerous levels. Then, as the catastrophic winds from Helene downed power lines, crashed trees into houses, and increased the downpour to disastrous flood levels, the area descended into chaos and uncertainty. Despite it all, the disaster also showed the community’s resilience, inspired community service, and human connection in a region caught in the throes of a climate disaster.
Several hundred people have died nationwide; scores of those dead were in the west of North Carolina, where hundreds of roads were closed, hampering recovery operations, as well as the delivery of much-needed food and water. Thousands had their houses damaged or destroyed.
A “perfect storm” of circumstances led to this catastrophe. The ground was already waterlogged before Helene arrived.
Thus, two storm systems stalled over the area, unleashing an extraordinary combination of hurricane winds and rain in a relatively small geographic region.
The mountainous terrain then funneled this massive volume of water into the valleys below. This combination of pre-existing saturation, extreme rainfall, challenging topography, and extreme winds toppling trees and powerlines created the “ideal” conditions for this devastating disaster.
The Margii community and their friends in Madison and Buncombe counties in the heart of the Southern Appalachian Mountains were all affected, losing power, water, and road access. However, they quickly rebounded and organized communal cooking, living at the domes at Ananda Girishuta and removing trees obstructing local dirt roads. They then organized several lines of action from there:
1. Individual Assist, systematically checking in with community members in person as cell coverage was unavailable. Then, later, calling to follow up those further away and assist them with their urgent needs.
2. Debris and sludge removal in Marshall. Volunteers joined the volunteer effort to clear out shops and homes in the local town of Marshal, where the river had inundated the main street entirely in mud and debris.
3. Food preparation and distribution. In the last couple of weeks, volunteers have prepared more than 1,000 meals, which were distributed to the volunteers in Marshall and at low-income and senior housing estates in and near Asheville. This work is still ongoing.
4. Distributing supplies. Volunteers delivered food and non-food items, sometimes combined with the food distribution and sometimes just directly given to relief coordination centers like Beloved.
5. Wellness. Volunteers have also participated in various free community-driven wellness initiatives, such as yoga classes and herbal therapies.
