Hurricane Helene

The Arts Organization Helping Transform Appalachia’s Craft Economy

January 13, 2025 Kristi Eaton, Resilience. Create! Appalachia, Arts, Hurricane Helene, Kentucky, Small Businesses

Makers United supports historically marginalized makers in the craft economy by removing the barriers to accessing business development resources and e-commerce opportunities they need to grow their small businesses. In 2023, that commitment led Nest to expand Makers United to Appalachia, starting with 54 counties in eastern Kentucky, where they identified not only the need for economic investment but recognized the potential for growth in the craft sector, especially in rural and digitally disconnected communities. As a result, the program delivers one-of-a-kind support by working with local and regional efforts to improve makers’ e-commerce readiness and enhance their business’ e-commerce performance to help folk artists market and distribute their work.

Grassroots Disaster Relief In Asheville

January 3, 2025 Megan McGee, Grassroots Economic Organizing. Organize! Asheville, climate crisis, Grassroots, Hurricane Helene, Mutual Aid, North Carolina

“We were pretty aware that the storm was going to be significant, but we had no idea it would be as significant as it was,” says Libertie Valance, a co-owner of Firestorm Books, the worker-owned bookstore in Asheville, NC that transformed overnight into a mutual aid hub following Hurricane Helene. After causing fatalities and catastrophic damage across the Southeast, Helene reached the Western North Carolina mountain city of Asheville in the early hours of Friday Sept. 27. Floodwaters cut off access to the city via Interstate 26, severely damaged the local water system, and left residents isolated without power or cell service.

What Mutual Aid Groups Are Doing To Help Hurricane Survivors

November 19, 2024 Damon Orion, Grassroots Economic Organizing. Educate! climate crisis, Extreme weather, Hurricane Helene, Hurricanes, Mutual Aid, North Carolina

Hurricane Helene, which was a Category 4 hurricane, hit on September 26 and claimed around 227 lives as of October 5, 2024. The hurricane is now considered one of the deadliest “of the modern era.” Besides destroying homes, businesses, roads, and bridges, it caused power outages for millions and left countless survivors without food and water. The hurricane has become a source of conflict and division, particularly concerning the federal government’s response to the catastrophe. Media outlets like PBS, U.S. News & World Report, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)’s Hurricane Rumor Response page have addressed what National Public Radio (NPR) called, “[r]umors, misinformation and lies” about this issue on October 7.

Our Fragile Infrastructure: Lessons From Hurricane Helene

November 5, 2024 Ellen Brown, Scheer Post. Educate! climate crisis, Extreme weather, Hurricane Helene, Infrastructure, North Carolina, Public Banks

Asheville, North Carolina is known for its historic architecture, vibrant arts scene and as a gateway to the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was a favorite escape for “climate migrants” moving from California, Arizona, and other climate-challenged vicinities, until a “500 year flood” ravaged the city this fall. Hurricane Helene was a wakeup call not just for stricken North Carolina residents but for people across the country following their tragic stories in the media and in the podcasts now favored by young voters for news. “Preppers” well equipped with supplies watched in helpless disbelief as homes washed away in a wall of water and mud, taking emergency supplies in the storm.

Waffle House Workers, At The Front Lines Of Disasters, Demand More

October 30, 2024 Kim Kelly, In These Times. Resist! climate crisis, Extreme weather, Hurricane Helene, Unions, Waffle House, Worker Rights and Jobs

Disaster preparedness is as much a part of the Waffle House brand as its all-day breakfast offerings. The 24-hour diner chain — home of a utilitarian menu of generously smothered, covered, scattered and peppered hash browns, among other quick-serve favorites — is omnipresent throughout the Midwest and Southeast. Its iconic butter-yellow letters have welcomed many a weary traveler since its founding in 1955, and its reputation for reliability is far more than a marketing tactic. In 2011, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administrator Craig Fugate created the “Waffle House Index” — a metric for measuring the severity of an oncoming storm.

Why All Hurricanes Should Be Named ‘Jim’

October 20, 2024 Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright, Black Agenda Report. Educate! Appalachia, Class Struggle, climate crisis, Environmental Justice, Environmental racism, Extreme weather, Florida, Georgia, Hurricane Helene, Hurricane Milton, Systemic Racism

The devastation effectuated by Hurricane Helene represents yet another elucidation of a quintessential climate crisis that is right here and right now. It demonstrates that climate change is not a conclusion that awaits us, but a set of present day precarities taking and altering lives right now. According to initial assessments, Helene could cost U.S. taxpayers upwards of $175 billion , and of course, there is no way to quantify the estimated 230 lives that were taken, thus far, with the death toll expected to rise. Meanwhile, Hurricane Milton, which made landfall in Florida as a Category 3 storm, continued this season of carnage and calamity with a death toll of approximately 20 people and an estimated $50 billion in damages.

The Future Is Named Helene

October 7, 2024 Andrew Nikiforuk, The Tyee. Educate! climate crisis, Environment, Florida, Hurricane Helene, North Carolina

The messages of Hurricane Helene lie inscribed in the muddy debris of Asheville, North Carolina, and other wrecked towns of Appalachia. Helene, powered by warming waters in the Gulf of Mexico, dumped 700 millimetres of rain in several states over three days. The surreal deluge drenched the ground and then it swelled creeks. The creeks supercharged rivers, and these muddy waters tore like a torrent through the hills, breaking all previous records of mayhem.

US Leaves Hurricane Helene Survivors Behind While Funding Israel’s War

October 4, 2024 People's Dispatch. Educate! climate crisis, Hurricane Helene, Israel, United States, US Aid To Israel, US Congress, US Imperialism, Wars and Militarism

At least 204 people are dead as a result of Hurricane Helene, which has devastated some of the more impoverished regions of the United States. Hundreds are still missing as survivors lose hope of finding their loved ones. Despite the unprecedented level of devastation, the federal money to deal with disaster relief appears to have run out. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on October 2 that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) does not have enough money to make it through hurricane season. Thanks to the efforts of conservative lawmakers, a recently passed funding bill did not allocate additional funds to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) despite knowing that the agency’s funds had run low before the peak of hurricane season.

Mutual Aid Groups Mobilize In Wake Of Hurricane Helene

October 4, 2024 It's Going Down, Grassroots Economic Organizing. Organize! climate crisis, disaster relief, Florida, Food Not Bombs, Hurricane Helene, Kentucky, Mutual Aid, Natural Disasters, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia

A Category 4 storm, Hurricane Helene, one of the largest storms to hit the Gulf Coast in a century, collided into the Big Bend area of Northern Florida on Thursday, before moving into neighboring states of Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, and the Carolinas. According to media reports, upwards of 60 people have already been confirmed dead, although the death toll is expected to rise as many municipalities have yet to release official numbers as cell phone service and internet remains down and millions are currently without power. Extreme flooding has been reported in Atlanta, GA and Asheville, NC, as whole communities are left stranded and lacking proper shelter and access to clean drinking water.

Congress Failed To Allocate Relief Funding Ahead Of Hurricane Helene

October 1, 2024 Natalia Marques, People's Dispatch. Educate! Climate Change, Cuba, disaster relief, FEMA, Hurricane Helene, Hurricanes, Natural Disasters, US Congress, US South

The US South is contending with the trail of destruction left by Hurricane Helene, which devastated the region over the past few days, including the states of North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, across the Central Gulf Coast and reaching into the southern Appalachian region. The extent of damage is only beginning to be revealed as the death toll climbs to at least 130 people, with hundreds more still missing. Some of the most impoverished areas of the US are now having to contend with what could amount to between USD 145 billion and USD 160 billion in damages and economic loss according to AccuWeather. Over one million people are still without power.

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