Hurricane Helene made landfall in the Big Bend area of Florida’s Gulf Coast as a Category 4 storm on 26 September 2024, unleashed devastating impacts that are still being felt across multiple states. The storm caused unprecedented flooding in the southern Appalachians, leading to 231 confirmed deaths as of 7 October, making it the deadliest hurricane to strike the mainland U.S. since Katrina in 2005.
Florida bore a significant brunt of the storm, with nineteen (19) fatalities reported as the hurricane wreaked havoc on communities along the Gulf Coast. Georgia experienced severe impacts as well, with seventeen (17) lives lost, and the storm’s aftermath left a trail of destruction in its wake. Tennessee recorded fifteen (15) fatalities, primarily due to flooding and landslides triggered by Helene’s torrential rains. South Carolina, too, was not spared, suffering thirty-six (36) deaths as the storm moved further inland and caused widespread chaos.
North Carolina has been particularly hard-hit, with severe damage to tele- communications and hundreds of roads closed. Fast-moving waters destroyed entire communities, leaving eight-four (84) confirmed dead, hundreds missing and complicating identification efforts for many victims. These numbers are increasing daily.
ECI Board of Directors and Staff send our best wishes to those who have been affected by the storm. Please keep those who continue to feel the effects of Helene in your thoughts as rescues continue and they begin to rebuild. If you are interested in making donations or aiding in relief efforts, there are several options including:
- The American Red Cross is opening and supporting shelters for people who have evacuated their homes. Make a financial donation or an appointment to give blood by visiting its website. You can also text the word HELENE to 90999 to make a donation.
- The Salvation Army is providing relief, food service and emotional and spiritual care. You can make a donation online by visiting its website.
- Americares teams are coordinating delivery of medicines, relief supplies and emergency funding to support health services. Visit its website to donate and contribute to its efforts.
- The North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund is accepting contributions for hurricane damage. Donations will be distributed to nonprofit groups working to meet storm victims’ immediate needs, like food and water, cleaning supplies, and other emergency supplies.
- The Florida Disaster Fund distributes funds to service organizations that help with disaster response and recovery.
- Send Relief is a nonprofit group in Georgia that has activated response sites across the affected regions. Donations to Send Relief supply meals, water, temporary roofing and flood recovery supplies to those sites.