This morning I finally heard from my brother. He has been in the south, helping with the clean up/relief efforts connected to Helene. Because he has been moving from place to place, going where he is needed, I looked forward to his evening call both to hear what’s going on and to make sure he was all right. But it had been 36 hours since I had heard from him, and I was getting nervous. I had texted several times and not gotten a response.
I tried again early this morning and it was a great relief to hear from him when he quickly called me back. He is in the places where he has cellular service only now and then, so I’m glad I caught him. A few days ago, he sounded weary as he described the devastation, but today he was energetic and raring to go. We have been praying for him as he has been on this trip, and if you would pray for Dan, too, I would really appreciate it!
I know that thousands of people are stepping up in lots of ways to provide relief from this huge disaster that spans 13 counties. In the same way that there is an outpouring of support right after someone dies, for example, there has been a great outpouring.
But winter is coming, and many people have been displaced or have had their homes so badly damaged that staying will become a real challenge. The people who live there will be rebuilding for months and possibly years to come. They have lost family or friends as well as homes and churches, vehicles and even landmarks. The loss in incredible, so continue to remember the people down in Tennessee and North Carolina over the next few months, especially.
The first part of this post will share some of the things that have happened, as related to me by my brother, and at the end, I will share a few of his ideas about how you can help make a difference in someone’s life in a real way. All of these pictures were taken by my brother, Dan Altstadt.
My brother’s first few calls were hard to listen to, as he tried to cope with the scope of the damage he was seeing. It’s super hard to imagine some of the things that happened, and some of the scenes he witnessed were just puzzling.
He told about seeing a steel I-beam that was wrapped around a tree 15 feet in the air. Just how does something like that happen? The power of the water and the hurricane-force winds were so strong that many of the locals told him they had never experienced anything like that before. Unprecedented, that’s the appropriate word. One man told him that the worst flood in his memory had happened in the nineteen-seventies, and this flood was five feet higher.
I don’t have exact locations for most of these photos, but I do know that my brother has been in the areas east of Knoxville, TN and north of Ashville, NC. There are lots of small, mountain roads, and lots of even larger main routes that are completely washed out, and so it is very difficult to reach some places by vehicle, and other places are only accessible by helicopter.
Much of the travel is via four-wheelers, because the roads have impassable areas. Many of the cars and trucks were also destroyed, so not only are people homeless, but they can’t even live in their cars. (Many people’s homes were just washed away completely, and only the foundation is left.)
One of the biggest problems is that because the power and internet is down, people have to use only cash to buy things. But nothing is open except for the places that still have power, and how many people can even get to a bank? And so financial logistics are another thing people are facing.
There is no easy fix, because critical infrastructure has been washed away and completely destroyed. It’s important to note, though, that not everything is destroyed. But as the water went around the bend, one side was completely washed away, while the other side was fine.
The hurricane dropped a lot of water, and caused incredible flooding; brooks turned into raging rivers with 4-5 foot walls of water crashing down the mountainside. One person described the horrifying sound of large boulders that the water picked up crashing into each other; they also smashed into the trees, houses and bridges that were in the path of the water. I can’t imagine the sound of the “angry river”, as he called it, but the weight and force of the water was obviously irresistible.
One of the things I didn’t know was that these big hurricanes are accompanied by pop-up tornadoes, and some of the houses that survived the hurricane were hit by tornadoes. The damage from the hurricane tended to snap the tree trunks in half, my brother said, but the trees appeared shredded where the tornadoes hit.that people drove
Can you imagine the neighborhood where you grew up so completely changed that all the landmarks are gone? The trees are down and the buildings are just missing. Even the topography has changed because of the force of the wind.
One really wonderful thing happening in the area is that people are working together, my brother said. He mentioned that about 65% of the people whom he has met have been Christians, and almost everyone has been patient, gracious and kind. He has been able to connect and work with others, so it is a relief for me to know he is not alone.
Of course, he was never alone. God is with him, as He is with all who trust in Him, but it is nice to feel the handshake or hug of a fellow human being. So many have been traumatized by what happened to the land, to their family, their homes and property, and when the need is so great, our tendency as humans is to minimize the loss and focus on the immediate need, just to get through to the other side. But for many, the other side is not “back to normal”; it’s someplace entirely new that has to be built before it can be lived in, and that knowledge is a heavy burden to bear.
But while so much tragedy has happened, much good has happened, too. People are finding each other, praying together, and therefore finding God through all of this. And God has a way of showing his mercy, his love and his faithful care through the people that truly love him. He empowers us to help when we love Him. He gives us the inspiration and the drive to help; He gives us the strength to do the hard things. He gives the ability to help pick up someone else’s burden for awhile so that they can stand up once again.
And to those who are Christians, consider that many of those who are suffering are your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. They are family! And that brings us to the part about what you can do, if you feel God leading you to help.
HOW TO HELP
The easiest way to help is to donate to a reputable organization who has boots on the ground and is doing the work. And before you reach for your debit card, do a little research. Not everyone accepting donations is actually helping. I do have a couple of suggestions of little-known organizations that are there on the front lines doing things for people right now.
The first is the Appalachian Christian Camp in Unicoi, TN. This campground has canceled all retreats for the month in order to provide housing for those who need it, complete with hot showers and meals. They are also a donation center, and have volunteers who are taking supplies out into the hardest hit areas where people are stranded. They are providing these services for FREE, and could really use your support in order to continue to provide. Please visit their page to donate; I urge you to support this cause if you are able.
The next one is a small family business called Chiassen Smoke in Wisconsin. Their response to Hurricane Helene was to donate 75 rocket stoves via Samaritan’s Purse to whomever needs them in North Carolina. If you don’t know what a rocket stove is, you should! (Might come in handy someday!)
Their video has been viewed over a million times since October 9th, so the folks at Chiassen Smoke are getting a good bit of attention, but I am sure that you could help them by throwing some business their way, or possibly helping them with future donations.
You can also donate to Samaritan’s Purse.
Food is becoming important for the folks hardest hit. One man asked my brother yesterday for “garden greens.” When you are eating out of a can, fresh food starts to look pretty good. The grocery stores in the area are getting cleaned out because it’s hard to get the trucks through, so if you can come up with a way to send good quality food, please do it.
One way to do that is to check with your local churches to see if someone is sending a work team down there to help, and volunteer if you have the ability, or donate necessary items (of which the church should have a list–and food may be part of that).
Many of the houses were flooded with mud, and have to be dug out by hand, so if you have influence with your church or other group, maybe consider helping with that as a work-team ministry. It truly is a situation-by-situation thing where each person needs something a little different. There is no one-size-fits-all-fix, except possibly cash.
I hope these ideas have jump-started your own idea factory! Can you think of a novel way to bring relief to those who are suffering? What are your gifts and how do they apply?
We can all pray, right? Some of the stories I have heard are amazing–about how God just shows up. When we obey and take the first small step of obedience outside of our comfort zone, he floods in to fill us with the power we need to do so much more than we ever thought we could. Thank you in advance for your prayers for my brother, Dan, and for your love and support for our family!
The Fullers Four 