Author: Meredith Hemphill
Hurricane Helene was a natural disaster unlike any North Carolina has experienced before. Not only was it a powerful storm, but it primarily impacted the western part of the state, a region of rugged terrain unaccustomed to tropical storms of this size. The State Emergency Response Team, which includes state, local, federal, private sector and non-profit partners, has been responding to this unprecedented event. Read on to learn what the SERT and the Department of Public Safety have been working on in Western NC. This is the third blog of the Hurricane Helene response series.
When a natural disaster strikes, the impacts can lead to unsafe living conditions or complete destruction of property. At times, people are displaced from their homes. To make sure all survivors have somewhere safe to stay, emergency managers open shelters. In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, the federal disaster declaration covered 27 counties in Western North Carolina and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. With the extensive damage across portions of Western NC, many communities needed places for people to stay. After the storm, 54 shelters were opened in NC. Four of these were state-operated shelters located in Buncombe, Rowan and Caldwell counties.
“A state-operated shelter is what we can do when a county needs that support, based on they have exhausted all of their resources,” said David Leonard, Human Services Branch Manager for NCEM.
Other shelters were opened by Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, such as the American Red Cross, or by county emergency management agencies. Human Services supported those shelters with whatever resources they requested, from staffing to supplies. Survivors staying in these shelters, whether set up by the state, the county or a non-profit, had access to laundry services, showers, hot meals, mental health support and case management to help them get back on their feet.
Human survivors were not the only ones in need of shelter. Many pets were brought to the emergency shelters as well, and that’s where the NC Department of Agriculture stepped in. During an event they have representatives in the Human Services Branch to help with these kinds of needs.
“They were already out working incidents with flooding in farms and things of that nature, animal concerns, but also assisted in providing sheltering operations,” Leonard said. “They came in, they located the equipment, had the equipment delivered, staffed it and handled that as far as the well-being and care of those animals.”
There were 22,847 overnight stays recorded in the Helene relief shelters, the most enduring of which stayed open for 44 days. Through FEMA’s Transitional Sheltering Assistance program, thousands of evacuees were able to move from shelters into hotel and motel rooms while awaiting repairs to their homes or another permanent housing solution. NCEM and VOAD partners continue to provide food to those who remain in TSA housing arrangements.
Medical Support Shelters
Some survivors needed more than just a place to sleep. Many had injuries or other medical concerns. Medical clinics were already few and far between in rural areas. With hospitals on generator power and roads washed out, additional support was needed.
“Our partners in the North Carolina Office of Emergency Medical Services have deployed ambulance buses, additional EMS units and additional medical personal to assist in sheltering operations and to support healthcare facilities,” NC Emergency Management Director Will Ray said during a briefing.
The SERT also organized temporary medical facilities, including two State Medical Support Shelters: a 20-bed facility in Caldwell County and a 50-bed facility in Cleveland County. NC OEMS opened two medical support stations on Oct. 2. These facilities, located in Mill Springs and Hickory, were equivalent to a hospital emergency department. One housed Atrium Health’s MED-1 Mobile Emergency Department and the other contained North Carolina’s Mobile Disaster Hospital. Patients could be triaged, treated and, if necessary, transferred to another institution with more advanced or specialized capabilities. The medical support stations also had landing zones for helicopters arriving with patients or supplies.
The Business Emergency Operations Center
Businesses have to cope with the aftermath of natural disasters, as well, and that’s where the Business Emergency Operations Center comes in. The BEOC is a physical and virtual communications and operational hub for businesses during disasters. The office is located inside the State Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh, and the online WebEOC makes their services accessible no matter where partners are. The BEOC provides critical information to their private sector partners during an emergency to aid them in their response, such as weather updates and forecasts, energy updates, road/travel conditions and port updates. Businesses can also reach out to the BEOC to offer resources, services or personnel to assist those impacted by a disaster, and the BEOC will coordinate those donations.
Between Sept. 26 and Nov. 7, the BEOC fielded 2,913 emails regarding Hurricane Helene. 453 of those were donation offers, 469 were requests to join as a new partner and 616 were private sector entities requesting access to WNC through road closures. The access requests included groups sending aid. The BEOC also processed about 1,500 phone calls during the first 30 days of the Helene response and received 212 new applications for Disaster Vendor Re-entry Certification.
“The Disaster Vendor Re-Entry Program helps to ensure that critical businesses are able to regain access to restricted or curfewed areas of the state ahead of the general public so that they can do the things they need to do to ensure they are up and running when the public returns, thus speeding up recovery for those communities,” said BEOC Coordinator James Wong.
The program focuses on businesses that are essential for the health, safety and economic well-being of a community, such as utilities, grocery stores, pharmacies and banks. There is no cost to a business to obtain a re-entry certificate.
Many different businesses contacted the BEOC to send resources to Western North Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Helene. The BEOC organized over $5.4 million worth of donations. Just a few examples include solar charging stations, pet food, diapers, mobile kitchens, detergent, heaters and socks.
Spotlight: Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster
Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster are non-profit and private sector organizations that coordinate to provide disaster relief. The American Red Cross and United Way are two well-known VOADs, but many state and local groups are part of the program, too. VOADs communicate with NCEM and FEMA and greatly extend the capacity of an emergency response.
“When this incident originally occurred, American Red Cross, Baptists on Mission, Salvation Army were the ones that quickly worked with us when we were initially engaging in the incident,” said Leonard. “And there are other feeding sources that we utilize, too, such as Hearts with Hands, Operation BBQ, Mercy Chefs and World Central Kitchen.”
VOAD partners assisted throughout the Helene response. Baptists on Mission prepared and distributed meals. Diaper Bank of North Carolina sent more than 1.5 million diapers and infant and feminine hygiene products to Western North Carolina and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Emerge Ministries ran a community kitchen that cooked 600-800 meals per day, warehoused supplies and made door-to-door supply and meal deliveries. VOAD partners sourced blankets, cots and cleanup and hygiene kits for the survivors staying in shelters.
A brand-new VOAD even formed in Spruce Pines. James Wong stumbled upon these intrepid volunteers during his Oct. 20-23 visit to WNC.
We the People Mission is based out of one of the aircraft hangars at the Avery County Airport. Their organization and donations management was incredible, especially since none of them had any formal training or prior experience. They had supplies stored everywhere and a long line of cars dropping off supplies while another long line of cars was coming through to collect supplies for individuals and families. They were organizing door-to-door wellness checks and food/supply drop-offs across several counties in their area. We had some great conversations about how they were able to quickly organize, collect and distribute resources to their neighbors across a rather large area of operations. I explained to them what VOADs are and how they should consider becoming one for critical information and ongoing support of their efforts. Weeks later, I started receiving emails from Paula Nunez, as she informed me that they had indeed formalized a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit and have applied to join NCVOAD, as they continue to support their extended community knowing that the recovery process will be long.
—James Wong