How it all started...
On September 27, 2024, Hurricane Helene made landfall near Tallahassee, Florida. Helene made her way through the southern Appalachians, pouring enormous amounts of rain on a landscape that had already taken on several inches of rain the week before. With saturated grounds, and intense downpours in the mountains, rainwater began to flow out of the mountains and into rivers across the North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee region.
As the rivers rose, rain continued to fall. Mud slides swept away homes, roads, bridges and lives as local homes and businesses began to fill with flood waters. For more than 15 hours water levels rose in rivers across the region, bringing mud, sand and silt with them. Trees, homes and other buildings were swept away as the ground they sat on was eroded and washed away with the flood waters. Bridges across North Carolina and Tennessee were broken, and in some cases, completely destroyed by swift-moving debris caught in the flood waters.
Rivers across the region set new record highs for flood levels, with some levels unable to be measured due to equipment being destroyed by flood waters and debris. The day and night of flooding was the worst natural disaster in the history of the southern Appalachian region, and left unknown totals of death in its wake. Many lives are still unaccounted for, while the death toll continues to rise. The devastation in our region is truly incomprehensible.
As the rivers rose, rain continued to fall. Mud slides swept away homes, roads, bridges and lives as local homes and businesses began to fill with flood waters. For more than 15 hours water levels rose in rivers across the region, bringing mud, sand and silt with them. Trees, homes and other buildings were swept away as the ground they sat on was eroded and washed away with the flood waters. Bridges across North Carolina and Tennessee were broken, and in some cases, completely destroyed by swift-moving debris caught in the flood waters.
Rivers across the region set new record highs for flood levels, with some levels unable to be measured due to equipment being destroyed by flood waters and debris. The day and night of flooding was the worst natural disaster in the history of the southern Appalachian region, and left unknown totals of death in its wake. Many lives are still unaccounted for, while the death toll continues to rise. The devastation in our region is truly incomprehensible.
Our response...
In the wake of the flooding, thousands of people in the Appalachian region jumped to action. There were many who were prepared to work wherever they were needed, for as long as they were needed. However, there was little organization in the first days after the flooding. That's when Emma Beddingfield and Kayla Cross jumped to action. With little resources other than social media, both knew they needed to do something to help their neighbors.
Emma found a house down the street to begin cleaning out mud, while Kayla shared the same sentiment and began finding people who desperately needed help and connecting them with volunteers willing to work. Emma and Kayla then connected and began working together to compile lists of homes, neighborhoods and properties that were ravished by flooding. As locations came in they began to call on volunteers on social media to go to these locations and begin helping in whatever way possible.
This response was the bedrock for what became the Appalachian Relief Coordination, as both Emma and Kayla were viewed as a source for homeowners to seek help and volunteers to find where they were most needed in their community.
Emma found a house down the street to begin cleaning out mud, while Kayla shared the same sentiment and began finding people who desperately needed help and connecting them with volunteers willing to work. Emma and Kayla then connected and began working together to compile lists of homes, neighborhoods and properties that were ravished by flooding. As locations came in they began to call on volunteers on social media to go to these locations and begin helping in whatever way possible.
This response was the bedrock for what became the Appalachian Relief Coordination, as both Emma and Kayla were viewed as a source for homeowners to seek help and volunteers to find where they were most needed in their community.
Where we are headed...
The goal of Appalachian Relief Coordination is not to be an organization that mobilizes in the wake of tragedy, but is a resource for the people of our region every day. With the ability to connect people in need of help and services with those who are qualified to provide said help and services, we desire to be the organization that stands in the gap for our communities. Our desire is that our communities see us as a valuable resource for help with restoration after tragedy, mental health assistance, local service opportunities, educational support and more.
We aim to provide our communities with a trusted ally that can help them navigate difficult times so that they know they are not alone. And that does not begin and end with disaster relief, but continues with everyday issues that our people face in the southern Appalachians.
We aim to provide our communities with a trusted ally that can help them navigate difficult times so that they know they are not alone. And that does not begin and end with disaster relief, but continues with everyday issues that our people face in the southern Appalachians.
