North Carolinians are no strangers to the impact of hurricanes, especially on the Atlantic coast.
Last year’s Hurricane Helene, however, rewrote records in North Carolina in an unsuspecting area of the state — the mountains and piedmont region of western North Carolina.
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The rain and flooding caused by Hurricane Helene on Sept. 27 of last year made it one of the deadliest U.S. storms in the 21st century with more than 100 confirmed deaths in North Carolina alone, according to a report issued Dec. 14, 2024, by the North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management.
The report also noted Helene caused more than $59.6 billion in damages across the state, far surpassing the previous record of $16.7 billion caused by Hurricane Florence in 2018.
As the first anniversary of Helene approaches, North Carolina Baptists on Mission, along with volunteers from across the nation, are still helping residents in the western portion of the state return to their homes.
Immediately after Helene hit North Carolina last summer, disaster relief volunteers were on site in 26 western counties, said Tom Beam, disaster relief director for North Carolina Baptists on Mission.
Hope and encouragement
Teams provided hope and encouragement to area residents through mass feeding, mud-out and tear out, mold remediation and more, Beam said. More than 5,000 jobs were completed, he added.
In January efforts were made to help residents return to their homes with the establishment of five rebuild centers in western North Carolina. As of Aug. 10, volunteers have completed 433 home rebuilds, with 248 in progress and a total of 1,300 rebuild requests, according to the Hurricane Helene page on the NCBM website.
Cal and Robin Petticrew of nearby Fletcher, North Carolina, have been leading rebuild efforts in East Flat Rock since the first of the year. Their region includes all of Henderson County and portions of Polk, Transylvania and Buncombe counties. Petticrew is site coordinator and Robin serves as office manager.
While some residents had partial insurance, most homeowners did not, Petticrew said. “You don’t think you will get flooded in the mountains,” he noted.
Petticrew said the majority of the homeowners they are currently assisting are in at least a portion of their houses. Many are in two level structures and most of the bottom floors received the most damage, he said.
The Baptist layman said his site has assessed 125 homes for repairs, ranging from roof leaks to major renovations to complete rebuilds. While teams have not yet rebuilt an entire house, that will begin soon, he said.
Petticrew stressed they are helping everyone who has needs regardless of whether they had insurance or not. For those who had insurance, it did not cover everything, he added.
Open doors
North Carolina Baptists have funding and materials to help the homeowners and volunteers provide free labor, he continued. “We don’t ask what their bank account is. We simply look at the need and the damages. We ask, “Is this an opportunity for us to get in and help them.
“We believe that rich or poor doesn’t matter. We are there to share the love of Christ and if He opens a door for us, we are going to walk through it.”
Petticrew is grateful for volunteers who have traveled from other states to serve alongside North Carolina Baptists. “All summer long we have had 40 to 60 people in here almost every day,” he said.
North Carolina Baptists on Mission purchased a former roofing company and remodeled it to house volunteers, Petticrew said. The building can house 32 people and a neighboring Methodist church can house up to 50 people if needed, he added.
The building, he noted, includes a dining area that can seat about 80 people and a full-size commercial kitchen.
‘From the ground up’
Petticrew expects the site will be active for several more years. A lot of areas have not been assessed yet and “we get requests for assistance every day.” There are a lot of homeowners who are still waiting to see what their insurance will cover or if they will receive FEMA assistance, he said.
“We will continue to do home repairs indefinitely for homes damaged by the storm but our future will be doing home replacements from the ground up for those that were completely destroyed,” he observed.
Though teams have not seen many professions of faith, Petticrew said a lot of gospel conversations have taken place. “I tend to think that maybe because we are in the Bible Belt and there’s a lot of people who are professing Christians.”
One thing he has observed are Christians whose faith has been rekindled by Helene. “I have seen an influx of people who were affected by the storm and are now getting involved once again in churches.”
Petticrew said volunteers will be needed indefinitely. For more information on Hurricane Helene response in North Carolina, visit Baptistsonmission.org.
