The Last Thing Needed Was One More Drop of Rain

The last thing needed was one more drop of rain. But, the heavens just kept opening up for days, making recovery efforts all the more difficult.

After three days of torrential downpours, covering a droughted area, on September 27, 2024,  heavy-handed Helene with her pushy bands of raging rain and wind gusts tore through the region of NE Tennessee, Western North Carolina, and SW Virginia after racing up from the Gulf Coast, then Georgia. This resulted in already stressed waterways and stormwater systems being completely overwhelmed by the swiftly rushing mountain streams emptying into rivers, lakes, and creeks. Trees whose roots were barely clinging to the earth could no longer sustain the pressure to keep standing. This is not something our region was designed (yes, designed) to handle. 

The photos above tell a tragic tale set in the Appalachian region in a small town in Northeast Tennessee. The photo on the left was taken (by me) just shy of two weeks prior to the image on the right. The river is called Nolichucky and it runs for miles through the mountains and lowlands, cutting a snake-like path along the way and toppling over a dam bearing its name just northeast of Greeneville, Tennessee. The river could not keep up with the rainfall and overflow, resulting in the river leaving its banks and destroying everything in its path. The broken road is east & westbound I-26 which traverses the mountains through Asheville, North Carolina southward to South Carolina. The power of over 30 feet in depth and width of excess water did that - this stretch of road, which also goes east through several cities to the TN/VA state line, is only 20 years old. 

Residents and visitors alike watched in horror as waterways across the region rose to historically, unprecedented levels with nothing one could do but step out of the way - if they were fortunate. In the path of this river is a hospital that had evacuated all but 58 people; those people made it to the roof and after a while were finally rescued by a a Blackhawk helicopter that flew in horrid conditions from Virginia. Businesses and homes were lifted by the powerful waters and swept off their foundations and moved feet, blocks, or towns away. The bridge in the image on the above right was taken from, forced from its beams, and tossed aside like nothing. I have begun to see my being led to Erwin that day as a prophetic moment. 

Stirring up old trauma

On a personal level, this stirred up the stress and trauma of living in SW Florida for nearly two decades. Ironically, just the day before, I commiserated with a colleague where I work who had also lived in Florida over this very thing, and how much we did not miss it. She lives in Asheville, North Carolina - the last thing I heard from her was a text to my mobile at 7:11 AM on September 27th: 'Our power has been out for hours but I am okay'. I have been praying hard that she is indeed, okay. So many in Asheville and the surrounding mountain towns are not. The only thing I can compare this storm to is Hurricane Katrina just in a different setting. 

It has been a devastating few days. And, sadly, it is only beginning and that is the hard truth of the matter. People are in shock, trying to make sense of it all but in a few days, weeks, or months they will thaw out and need to deal with and begin to heal from their loss, stress, and grief. 

What this has done internally on a personal level is stir up old trauma that I had forgotten existed in my body and mind from all the years of preparedness and survival. My spirit was also in a wicked state of unrest and it ended in my being under the weather from the stress and feeling the pain of others. I immediately went into "help" mode and spent tons of time watching for information and resources on how to help, what needs were, trying to provide information to others, etc., etc., not realizing until later that night, after shopping for donations, how deeply exhausted I was. 

The last thing I expected was the understanding that I was having a trauma response.

The hidden emotions hit me very hard before and after dropping donations off in a neighboring county. In these situations, people can feel so helpless when all they want to do is be of service. I felt the pain and suffering of the volunteers and county workers directing cars to the correct location - all of whom seemed to be on auto-pilot. Their faces said it all. However, a trauma response is not a natural response and that is why I finally broke down into tears. Why did I respond this way? Because I can relate to what everyone around me is experiencing, many for the first time. I don't see it as a bad thing: I needed to have this response and gain an understanding of it - so I could gather my senses, pray my way to a healthy state of mind, and truly be of help if someone needs to talk through what they are feeling. I have wept heavily over, firstly, the loss of not just our land and people's livelihoods but knowing there will be the loss of lives.

To everything, there is a purpose under heaven...

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At the time of publication, it has been a week since Helene tore through the Southern Appalachia region and more has come to light. I will have more to share. Please pray for the people here and that they are not forgotten on any level - this is the most devastating and surreal situation many have ever experienced. Thank you! 
If you would like to donate to help, I have a long list of local and legitimate organizations where you can do so. Feel free to contact me here. 

Image and video of the river raging through Erwin, Tennessee the bridge which also served as a crossing for the Appalachian Trail (Unicoi County, TN September 27, 2024) (See the screenshot below of the exact spot where the bridge used to stand. You can see it up against the river bank. In the video it is at the 7m 20s mark.)