Beaufort rallies to help neighbors in North Carolina after Hurricane Helene

Beaufort County This Week

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From the Island News

Beaufort County started to feel the effects of Hurricane Helene on Thursday afternoon with bands of rain coming into the area as the storm began passing by us to the west.

Despite not striking a direct blow, Helene, then a tropical storm, brought flooding and winds up to 75 mph, leaving fallen trees, debris littering yards and roadways, and downed power lines that left roughly 34,000 without power. As of 6 a.m. on Monday morning, nearly 3,000 – roughly 3% of customers – were still without power in Beaufort County according to Find Energy.

Thankfully by Tuesday evening, that number was down to 950 customers without power. Most of the customers who were still without power on Tuesday are serviced by Dominion Energy who announced earlier in the week that they estimated having power restored for most in the county by 11 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 1.

Three EF0 tornadoes have been confirmed as having touched down in the Beaufort area, two south of the Broad River and one in Dale. Beaufort County public school students were able to return to the classroom on Tuesday after having eLearning days on Friday, Sept. 27 and Monday, Sept. 30 due to impacts from the storm.

As for water, Beaufort Jasper Water and Sewer Authority issued a statement on Sept. 27 asking customers to limit their water usage through to prevent a strain on the water and sewage systems.
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From the WSAV

The video of the damage, the water, the mud and everything in the mountains near Asheville and the surrounding communities has touched the hearts of folks around the nation, including right here in the Coastal Empire and Lowcountry.

Drives have been started by dozens of groups or individuals wanting to help. One of those people, State Representative Bill Herbkersman, who took to the skies to deliver donations, and allowed News 3’s Andrew Davis exclusively along for the ride.

The flight from Ridgeland to Asheville seems peaceful until you look down into the mountains and see just the start of what Helene left behind.

We touch down at the Asheville Regional Airport, and as we taxi you begin to see it, a dozen or more planes from all around the country with supplies of their own. Military Chinook helicopters waiting to deliver food to needy areas. An “army” at the ready to help.

“I’ll tell you, it’s it’s light lighting the heart that so many people are in this together. I mean, pilots and their friends are coming in and dropping things off from all over.” said State Rep. Bill Herbkersman.

Herbkersman’s plane carried 800 pounds of diapers, food, wipes and supplies desperately needed by parents. A cart full of love and hope.

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From the Post & Courier

When former Mayor Stephen Murray put out a call for donations of relief supplies he intended to deliver to areas devastated by Helene, he figured it would take at least a few days to collect enough materials to make the trip meaningful. Instead, the response necessitated a change in plans.

Donations accumulated quickly, and it soon became apparent that the single trip wasn't going to suffice. Added to the cases of water, pet food, diapers, cleaning supplies, shovels and rakes already collected was a promise of 900 bags of ice.

As it became obvious that multiple trips were going to be necessary, Murray and other volunteers decided it would be best to get what they had in the hands of those who needed it, and a plan to leave as soon as possible was hatched. Craig Reaves, owner of Sea Eagle Market, offered to drive one of his refrigerated trucks to carry the ice, while Murray got seven pallets of supplies loaded up on a truck. The pair set off at the crack of dawn Oct. 1, headed for Canton, N.C., a town of about 4,500 residents in Haywood County 15 miles or so west of Asheville.