Powerful Hurricane Helene has battered Asheville
Photo by Erica Fernandez
Kelsey Watson, Sports Editor
Hurricane Helene landed at approximately 11 p.m. Thursday, September 26. Millions of people were affected, and widespread damage and flooding occurred across several states. Asheville, North Carolina, took the brunt of the storm and declared a public health emergency. Allen McWhite, North Greenville University staffer, was committed to the restoration of this town.
McWhite is the Travelers Rest Police Department’s chaplain and NGU intercultural studies department chair. He has dedicated his life to serving God’s kingdom. With his position in the police department, he found himself in Asheville, NC, almost every day for a week.
“We developed an interest in the Chimney Rock, Lake Lure area which was really devastating. They have a very small police department, with only nine officers there. So, we were looking for ways to come alongside them, help them, encourage them, give them a break, those kinds of things,” said McWhite.
McWhite visited other towns as well, like Black Mountain and Swannanoa, who all were in desperate need. McWhite said that in these areas, they may not have water for weeks, if not months.
“It [Hurricane Helene] wiped out their water source supply. It just disrupted anything that went in there, ripped up the pipes, filled everything with mud. They’re going to have to rebuild a lot of that,” said McWhite.
When in North Carolina, McWhite had the opportunity to serve with local churches who he says are the main aids in relief right now. Churches like First Baptist Church Hendersonville, Biltmore Church and Swannanoa Baptist have become a focal point for a lot of people who were coming in with disaster relief teams.
Places have set up food and water distribution centers, medical triages and basic first aid stations. Samaritan’s Purse had a strong presence along with other state’s disaster relief units coming in to help.
“It has been a tremendously encouraging thing to see the body of Christ really leading the way in relief efforts,” said McWhite.
The Travelers Rest Police Department has decided that when they can, they want to offer their services to the police departments in Asheville and the surrounding areas. Once the initial crisis is gone, the TRPD wants to help take shifts for the officers so they can enjoy a few days off amid the hurricane aftermath.
“I was talking to one of their officers and asked him, ‘Alright, look, I want you to talk to me personally now, not as a member of the community. What do you need? What can we do for you? Tell me what would help you the most?’ His response was immediate . . . it was sleep,” said McWhite.
North Carolina has seen power outages, flooding, busted pipes and a complete wipe out of a town. This situation can weigh on a person’s emotions. McWhite said the overwhelming magnitude of everything he saw during his time aiding relief efforts was very impactful.
“The strange thing is, I guess, you run on adrenaline. Sunday night, I got home, and for the first time, had a chance to really sit down, and I really crashed emotionally. I don’t know how to describe it, except all of a sudden, I had no energy, just this tremendous weight. You absorb all of those things that you see, and you recognize the devastation,” McWhite said.
He said seeing piles of debris with someone’s basketball, a child’s shoe or a guitar case covered in mud took it from looking at the magnitude of the situation to realizing how many individual people were affected.
Something that touched McWhite’s heart was a group of Amish people who had set up in the Ingles parking lot just outside of Lake Lure giving out hot meals.
“I had an opportunity to pray with them, and they said, ‘Can we sing a hymn for you?’ So, I said, ‘Of course you can.’ All of them there, with all of this stuff going around, just burst out singing Amazing Grace. It was probably one of the most touching things that happened to me while I was up there,” said McWhite.
Asheville and its surrounding areas took a huge hit from this natural disaster, but God and his people are continuously working for the restoration of these towns.
