Here is an actual report from a group from my Eastern NC neighborhood that has already been up into the western mountains delivering no less than 5 trips so far with more to come.
They have been collecting supplies from my own neighborhood, local churches and a Christian school in the area. The kids even had a lemonade sale and raised $3,500 just at a local golf course during a three day tournament.
Here's the post: I have edited it to eliminate any info to protect privacy of individual's involved.
Emotionally, today was one of our hardest trips. We went past Newland to a place called Spear. The destruction there was terrible. So many of the houses were completely swept away. All you could see was the footprint of the foundation. The river bed is full of tangled up trees, cars, houses, trailers, and drain pipes from bridges. Bridges are gone and there's no way to get to the homes on the other side. Cars flipped over. So many big trees down everywhere. Thousands of rocks washed into and up against houses. Think of a whole river bed of rocks dropped halfway up a house. Spear had only just today cut a trail into a neighboring area. That means the people have been cut off for a week. Side by sides, four wheelers, and horses were taking supplies in.
2 generators were dropped at the Newland Fire Department. They are prioritizing medical needs first and completing the setup for the homeowners. They are cataloging the generators and collecting them when they aren't needed anymore. The generator will then be put back into circulation and to a new location. It was very organized. We loaded our third one into a pickup truck and drove into Spear with food packed around it. Once there, it went into a local pickup truck and then directly onto a four wheeler to be taken further up the mountain.
We met one family that watched the water come up to their porch and all around them. It swept away 2 of their cars. Their neighbors trailer was completely crushed and he's now living with them. Another family had a giant tree fall on their bedroom. They are still living there. The worst story we heard was from a woman who's family took shelter in their attic. The water got up to the windows. They said they could hear the house creaking and feel it shaking. The father of that homeowner was crushed in his home, just down the road.
A couple of things I can tell you...
-Much like Florence, it's regular everyday people that are there doing the work. Not organizations like FEMA, Samaritan's Purse, and Red Cross. That's not to say they aren't in other places or aren't doing anything at all. We passed several military vehicles going into the area, but never saw any signs of them once we got into our drop off area or any of our other areas.
-In our 5 runs that we've made, we haven't seen any signs of looting. We haven't for a second felt nervous/threatened in any of the areas we've been to. The people we've delivered to have been so grateful and sweet.
-In our 5 runs, we haven't been stopped or turned away. We do have paperwork with us, but haven't had to use it. Don't take that to mean that you should set out on your own. Do your homework and find a point of contact in the area you are traveling to.
-Western flooding is SO different than what we experience in Eastern NC. You can't go door to door helping people, because the area is so rural. A local is needed to navigate the area. The water comes and goes quickly. It moves with force and rips everything in its' path apart, whereas our water rises slowly and then resides slowly. In Eastern NC, we can muck out a house and put in some new insulation and sheetrock. These homes were completely wiped away.
Finally, the land has been completely reshaped. Things are buried under feet of first and rocks.
We have one more trailer going out tomorrow. It will go to Bakersville and hopefully Burnsville. We've heard those are two areas of need.
We have had a long week and today was hard. We are still collecting money, but we will be moving toward a long term plan. We heard from multiple people that 1)They will need people 3 weeks down the road when everyone leaves & beyond that. 2) It will be cold there soon. We were told by several locals that kerosene heaters are needed. Our goal is to spend time with our families, listen to the needs, and tentatively plan for a return trip the weekend of October 18th. If these 5 trips haven't shown everyone that we can be trusted and we are determined to help, I don't know what will. Help us keep helping!
Here is an actual report from a group from my Eastern NC neighborhood that has already been up into the western mountains delivering no less than 5 trips so far with more to come.
They have been collecting supplies from my own neighborhood, local churches and a Christian school in the area. The kids even had a lemonade sale and raised $3,500 just at a local golf course during a three day tournament.
Here's the post: I have edited it to eliminate any info to protect privacy of individual's involved.
Emotionally, today was one of our hardest trips. We went past Newland to a place called Spear. The destruction there was terrible. So many of the houses were completely swept away. All you could see was the footprint of the foundation. The river bed is full of tangled up trees, cars, houses, trailers, and drain pipes from bridges. Bridges are gone and there's no way to get to the homes on the other side. Cars flipped over. So many big trees down everywhere. Thousands of rocks washed into and up against houses. Think of a whole river bed of rocks dropped halfway up a house. Spear had only just today cut a trail into a neighboring area. That means the people have been cut off for a week. Side by sides, four wheelers, and horses were taking supplies in.
2 generators were dropped at the Newland Fire Department. They are prioritizing medical needs first and completing the setup for the homeowners. They are cataloging the generators and collecting them when they aren't needed anymore. The generator will then be put back into circulation and to a new location. It was very organized. We loaded our third one into a pickup truck and drove into Spear with food packed around it. Once there, it went into a local pickup truck and then directly onto a four wheeler to be taken further up the mountain.
We met one family that watched the water come up to their porch and all around them. It swept away 2 of their cars. Their neighbors trailer was completely crushed and he's now living with them. Another family had a giant tree fall on their bedroom. They are still living there. The worst story we heard was from a woman who's family took shelter in their attic. The water got up to the windows. They said they could hear the house creaking and feel it shaking. The father of that homeowner was crushed in his home, just down the road.
A couple of things I can tell you... -Much like Florence, it's regular everyday people that are there doing the work. Not organizations like FEMA, Samaritan's Purse, and Red Cross. That's not to say they aren't in other places or aren't doing anything at all. We passed several military vehicles going into the area, but never saw any signs of them once we got into our drop off area or any of our other areas. -In our 5 runs that we've made, we haven't seen any signs of looting. We haven't for a second felt nervous/threatened in any of the areas we've been to. The people we've delivered to have been so grateful and sweet. -In our 5 runs, we haven't been stopped or turned away. We do have paperwork with us, but haven't had to use it. Don't take that to mean that you should set out on your own. Do your homework and find a point of contact in the area you are traveling to.
-Western flooding is SO different than what we experience in Eastern NC. You can't go door to door helping people, because the area is so rural. A local is needed to navigate the area. The water comes and goes quickly. It moves with force and rips everything in its' path apart, whereas our water rises slowly and then resides slowly. In Eastern NC, we can muck out a house and put in some new insulation and sheetrock. These homes were completely wiped away.
Finally, the land has been completely reshaped. Things are buried under feet of first and rocks.
We have one more trailer going out tomorrow. It will go to Bakersville and hopefully Burnsville. We've heard those are two areas of need.
We have had a long week and today was hard. We are still collecting money, but we will be moving toward a long term plan. We heard from multiple people that 1)They will need people 3 weeks down the road when everyone leaves & beyond that. 2) It will be cold there soon. We were told by several locals that kerosene heaters are needed. Our goal is to spend time with our families, listen to the needs, and tentatively plan for a return trip the weekend of October 18th. If these 5 trips haven't shown everyone that we can be trusted and we are determined to help, I don't know what will. Help us keep helping!