Hurricanes are natural phenomena that become natural disasters on land, ripping through and destroying communities in a matter of hours. Years of history and hard work put into building a home, a neighborhood, a town, a livelihood, a life, gone in an instant. Most people have seen the photos and videos of the path and aftermath of Helene, a 500-mile-wide swath of destruction that began on Florida’s Gulf Coast, where it made landfall before it plowed into parts of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee, finally reaching into Virginia. In Georgia, four-months’ worth of rain fell in 48 hours. As of today, the death toll stands at more than 180, and many more still missing. A recent study cautions the true impact of hurricanes, in terms of elevated rates of mortality, might not be fully understood for years.

In the Public Interest typically shines a light on structural and policy implications of these increasingly common disasters. We believe that the purpose of government is to do together what cannot be done individually. Helene is showing us, once again, that we are in it together. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is a fine example of that, and its staff set up an incident support base at Maxwell Airforce Base in Alabama two days before Hurricane Helene made landfall late last Thursday. And President Biden announced this week he directed the Defense Department to deploy up to 1,000 active duty soldiers to assist the National Guard in delivering supplies, food, and water to affected areas.

But this isn’t a moment for analysis —it’s a human moment that requires an immediate and urgent human response. We are moved by the many instances of neighbors caring for neighbors, strangers lending a hand, first responders risking their lives, and thousands of individuals across the nation, far from the storm, seeking ways to help.

For perspective, we wanted to share the words of the musician Rhiannon Giddens, a daughter of North Carolina.

In a post on social media, she wrote:

I’ve been trying to make it make sense but it just doesn’t. The mountains of North Carolina, places like Asheville, Swannanoa, Black Mountain, Boone, Chimney Rock, the list goes on; places and people I know well and have for over two decades…it’s just heartbreaking to see such damage from a hurricane in places miles and miles away from any coastline. To check Facebook every hour to read who has checked in safe. Once in a lifetime weather events are now every other year…hard not to see what our actions have reaped and to see the devastation they are leaving in their path for communities that will be rebuilding for years – if they even will be able to. My love goes to all affected by Helene but by itself it’s not too helpful.

Here is an incredibly thorough living document with resources for people on the ground.

For folks NOT on the ground:

Please send money. Please don’t go. Don’t send stuff. Just send money.

Before providing a list of organizations to which to send donation, she leaves with one final thought:

And think about who we need to be in office to handle these kinds of things.

 

Here is the list of places she felt would use your donations well, and we join her in asking our friends to contribute:

Appalachian Funder’s Network

https://bit.ly/appheleneresponsefund

World Central Kitchen

https://wck.org/search/tag/north-carolina

Operation Airdrop (Concord, NC)

Hurricane Helene Relief Efforts at https://www.operation-airdrop.com/hurricane-helene

Beloved Asheville (Asheville, NC)

https://belovedasheville.com/get-involved

For more donations to super local, vetted organizations, Blue Ridge Public Radio has put this together:

https://www.bpr.org/…/list-ways-to-donate-and-help…