When category-4 Hurricane Helene barreled through Western North Carolina (WNC), mountain rivers turned into raging currents, ripping houses off their foundations, causing landslides, and sweeping away roads and bridges. Lives were lost and hundreds of communities were entirely cut off, left without power and water, and unsure when–or if–help would arrive.
“It was like we were on a little island up here. We couldn’t get a hold of anyone,” said Elizabeth Turbo. Elizabeth lives in Elk Park–a small community about an hour west of Boone, NC, where Wine To Water is headquartered. “This area is all bridges, and they were gone. Nobody could go anywhere. We were just stuck.”
Elizabeth’s home uses electricity to power a springwater box–however, power won’t be restored for several more months. Wine To Water brought ATVs loaded with filters, generators, food, and volunteers to assist with clean up. WTW reached dozens of communities that were cut off, using off road vehicles to navigate crumbling roads–and even hauling supplies in on foot–to reach families with water and essential supplies.
We set up supply hubs in central locations throughout WNC where families could come for essentials. These hubs were stocked with donations of bottled water, food, hygiene items, and emergency relief supplies–including flashlights, batteries, gas and propane canisters, and plastic tarps.
The Grant Center in Asheville was one of the first sites to open with Highland Christian Church and WTW. A few weeks after working tirelessly to serve neighbors Jason Garris asked a resident, “You good?” “How could we not be,” the man said, “Ya’ll have taken such good care of us.” Then he hugged Jason.
In Asheville, our team quickly identified a need for water to flush toilets and prevent the spread of disease. “People were desperate,”said Tina Owen, Vice President of WTW and Asheville resident. “Hundreds of families had no drinking water, and no access to water to flush toilets. I knew we had to launch a ‘WTW Flush Team’ within 24 hours - health and dignity were at risk.”
We mobilized 9,000 gallon tanker trucks to deliver flush water, prioritizing public housing and low-income, vulnerable neighborhoods. WTW also installed large scale water filtration units to minimize a dependency on single use plastics for drinking water.
Churches, community centers, fire stations, breweries and warehouses made their facilities available for WTW to use as distribution sites where families could find what they needed to make it through the hardest days after the storm.
More than 1,000 volunteers have powered Wine To Water’s work across Western North Carolina and will continue to mobilize throughout the next phase of recovery. Danette Greene, a registered nurse at Mission Hospital in Asheville, came to a WTW supply hub for water and other supplies after the hurricane. When she overheard someone talking about volunteering, she decided to sign up. Danette used her empathy as a nurse to listen to the stories of hurting people as she filled up 5 gallon water bags and buckets. “Anything I can do to help, I’m there,” she said.
From day one of our response to Hurricane Helene, the Wine To Water team witnessed the spirit of community at work: neighbors helping neighbors, even in the midst of their own struggles and grief. Everyone here was affected by the storm, but hope was ignited as hands and feet worked together, side by side without labels or judgement.
Wine To Water, our volunteers, and our supporters are all a part of this global community that is working together to preserve life and dignity through the power of clean water.
As of November 2024, we have distributed over 294,000 gallons of water, 3,100+ water filters, 5,850 hygiene kits, and over 1.2 million lbs of necessary supplies. We continue to provide hurricane relief in Western NC through water and supply distribution and supporting community clean up initiatives.
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