Disaster Relief in North Carolina

In late September 2024, the Category 4 Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida, leaving a trail of devastation across six states in the south-east US, destroying communities and claiming hundreds or thousands  of lives. Settling in the mountainous region of western North Carolina, Helene dumped huge volumes of rainwater, causing over 1,500 mudslides and record-breaking floods of rivers and streams, cutting off Asheville and Swannanoa and washing away homes, roads and bridges throughout the area. The remote villages of Bat Cave and Chimney Rock were completely flattened when the Broad River rose over 30 feet, leaving a barren path of massive destruction resembling a war zone. Many lost EVERYTHING.

While FEMA and government agencies were slow to deploy, neighbors and volunteers flocked to the area to help. Search and rescue teams helped locate and retrieve victims, both living and dead, from the mud and debris. Other teams identified “hollers” in the hills where residents were cut off from the outside world, and began rebuilding the washed-out roads and cutting through massive walls of fallen trees to reach these families with generators, supplies and much-need food, water and clothing.

Established organizations like Cajun Navy and Samaritan’s Purse first focused their resources in the most populated areas like Asheville, Spruce Pine and Black Mountain, while Spokes of Hope and the Army Corps of Engineers have focused their efforts in the famous mountain tourist community of Chimney Rock.

Eager to join the relief efforts, we at the Living Christ Ministry sought to concentrate our efforts and resources to the needy yet overlooked communities in the “belly of the beast,” and we were guided by the Holy Spirit to Bat Cave, NC, a once-vibrant village located at the convergence of several large streams upriver from Chimney Rock. On our first trip, we brought generators, chainsaws, clothing and other valuable donated items to this desperate and somewhat ignored community.

We first established Bat Cave as our primary base of operations in the area, allowing us to support efforts in the nearby communities of Chimney Rock, Black Mountain, Gerton and along the French Broad River. With the Army Corps of Engineers moving in to rebuild the roads through Bat Cave and Chimney Rock, we have also set up operations to help the families of Swannanoa, many still living in tents. Working with a ever-changing team of volunteers, we are committed to return about twice a month for week-long visits with equipment to continue relief efforts and deliver donations and supplies as needs change.