CNA Staff, Sep 30, 2024 / 16:10 pm (CNA).
Catholic agencies in western North Carolina are mobilizing to help with relief efforts amid devastating flooding caused by the remnants of Hurricane Helene, which dumped torrential rain on mountain communities there leaving serious damage and dozens dead.
Patricia Guilfoyle, assistant director of communications for the Diocese of Charlotte, said churches across the diocese are gearing up to serve as aid distribution points. Municipal water systems have been swamped and damaged, roads and access points have been washed away, and utility lines have been downed since the flooding began in earnest on Friday.
The city of Asheville, a gateway to the Smoky Mountains, was especially hard-hit along with hundreds of smaller communities. The death toll for Helene continues to rise, standing at at least 121 across six different southern states, The Washington Post reported. This includes at least 35 deaths in Buncombe County, which includes Asheville, local police reported.
Monsignor Patrick Winslow, vicar general and chancellor of the Charlotte Diocese, and other diocesan leaders have been contacting pastors in the affected areas to survey parishes’ immediate needs and evaluate how best to help, the local Catholic News Herald reported. Asheville is about 125 miles west of Charlotte.
In Hendersonville, North Carolina, flooding and leaks from the roof and windows at Immaculata School inundated multiple classrooms, the gym, and its new STEM lab. The adjacent Immaculate Conception Church also experienced water damage in the sacristy, the diocese reported.
Most of the Charlotte Diocese’s churches, however, including a historic basilica in Asheville that recently received a major renovation grant, are “relatively undamaged, thank God,” Guilfoyle, the diocesan communication professional, told CNA via email.
Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte is running a donation campaign to raise funds for relief efforts. Catholic Charities of East Tennessee, a ministry of the nearby Diocese of Knoxville, is also accepting donations. At least 150 people have been reported missing in Tennessee as of Sunday.
“Electricity, drinkable water, food, medical care, and cellphone service are in critically short supply in western North Carolina in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Helene,” the Charlotte Diocese noted.
Emergency relief supplies are being collected at the Charlotte Diocesan Pastoral Center (1123 S. Church St. in Charlotte) this week for daily delivery to parishioners and residents of Hendersonville and other areas of western North Carolina, the diocese said.
Needed supplies include bottled water, sanitary wipes, nonperishable food, baby food, formula, diapers, pet food, flashlights, zip-close bags, and batteries. Supplies can be dropped off between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday, Sept. 30, through Thursday, Oct. 3.
Bishop Michael Martin of Charlotte on Friday dispensed Catholics from their Sunday Mass obligation in places impacted by the storm. Some churches held Sunday Mass as usual even without power, the diocese noted.
Helene made landfall in Florida’s sparsely populated Big Bend region on Thursday night as a Category 4, bringing a 9-foot storm surge to some areas and knocking out power for millions. Weakening into a tropical storm over land, it brought deadly flooding and damaging winds inland to Georgia, Alabama, and the Carolinas.
Numerous dioceses in Florida, which bore the brunt of the storm, are collecting donations and coordinating aid with the help of Catholic Charities USA.
President Joe Biden approved a disaster declaration for 25 North Carolina counties on Saturday, making residents there eligible for federal assistance through FEMA.
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Thank you for posting this article. There just has not been that much press on this devastation, which hits close to home.
Thank you for posting this story. News is rather thin about this.
I worked with a Mormon who explained to me after one of the last hurricanes that they have disaster centers around the country and work with other disaster response organizations to minister where they can. Human supplies and also fresh fuel like diesel and gasoline. Per the internet: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is organizing disaster relief command centers in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas in the wake of Hurricane Helene, ChurchofJesusChrist.org reported.
Mrs. H just type Asheville NC in your search engine, including images and videos and it’s unbelievable. Fresh water is a big issue right now.
The Mormons take care of each other in ways we could learn something from.
Ditto for the Amish and Mennonites. The Mennonites showed up in our area unannounced following a hurricane and set to work repairing people’s homes. I believe the Baptists and others did that too.
Yes, one dairy farmer I knew about, in the days before cell phones, had Amish neighbors who would come over regularly and use the phone, get rides, use the loader on the tractor etc.. One night the farmer’s barn burned down (just the building no cattle lost). The Amish helped organize the rebuild and once the farmer had the materials and they had everything ready, about 60 Amish showed up and got it back up in a day or two. I believe the ladies brought food as well.
We need to ask for the intercession of whomever the saint of disasters is because there are people with no fresh or clean water to drink, for starters.
Flash flooding is a terrible thing. People who have never experienced that have no idea how much power moving water has. It just takes everything in its path.
God bless those poor people in North Carolina.