It's been 55 days since Hurricane Helene ripped through Western North Carolina. The storm surge washed away quaint towns, businesses, and memories for many of the people living in towns like Asheville, Burnsville, and Black Mountain.
The daily search for food and water has slightly eased for some residents due to a boil advisory that was lifted just days ago for more than 100,000 residents.
But as the temperatures drop, residents are concerned with how to survive the winter.
"While people are getting prepared for Thanksgiving and joyous occasions. Here, it's a game of survival every day for the people of this region and surrounding mountain towns," explained Operation Blessing Media Liaison Hayley Henson.
Henson shared the update recently describing what life has been like for people, including herself, in the Asheville area.
"We don't get to leave this disaster zone. It's our reality every day," she said.
The deadly Category 4 storm tore through western North Carolina as well as Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Virginia.
According to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, there were 103 verified storm-related fatalities as of Thursday. And more than 200 people were still unaccounted for in Buncombe County at the start of October.
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Many residents left their residences with just the clothes on their backs to escape safely. But they returned to just fragments and remnants of the places they used to call home.
"There is still debris. There are still people unaccounted for. Their families are still searching for them," Henson shared. "In Burnsville, NC people are living in tents because everything was washed away and people don't even know if they can rebuild due to imminent domain."
Helping people survive the cold weather is a top priority of Operation Blessing.
"Unfortunately, as the weather changes, the challenges multiply for those who have had to leave their homes and seek shelter other places. For many of the people living in the back country and hollers, they went into tents on their property immediately following the storm, but now freezing temperatures, rain and snow are creating dangerous conditions," Drew Friedrich, OB's Chief Operating Officer, told CBN News.
He recently announced the organization is partnering with World Vision and other groups to build more than 175 homes for residents.
"The majority of homes that we work on will be located in the Ridgecrest/Black Mountain and Swannanoa areas, but we’re not necessarily limiting our reach to only these communities. Some of the determining factors revolve around permitting and level of damage to the structure of the home. We’ve already identified 130 homes that are in the system for assessment and construction," Friedrich explained.
"I never thought I'd be living in a tent, but here I am," Swannanoa Valley resident Joe Bryant recently told CBN News. "I wouldn't wish this on anyone. I've seen disasters like this on TV my whole life, but I never thought I'd be living it."
Friedrich shares that the goal is to get as many families into homes as soon as possible.
"We are really pushing hard to try and get 12-15 families who have already received permits back into their homes before Christmas," he explained. "We will push to get as many back as possible before the holidays, and we’re current building out warehouse space to house all the construction materials that will help repair the homes so families can return to normalcy."
As CBN News reported, Operation Blessing is also helping woodworkers get back to work just before the holidays.
They have helped set up an 8,000-square-foot workspace where they can make and sell their goods while their permanent studio and gallery are rebuilt.
"We are going to help this community get back on their feet and begin to rebuild," Friedrich shared on Facebook.
Additionally, Operation Blessing has given residents hundreds of hot meals to those in need.
And as the holidays approach, Friedrick says OB is going to fill in the gap for families in need.
"We are going to be doing some Thanksgiving food distributions,and we’re planning some Christmas baskets for families in need, as well as Christmas feeding efforts," he shared in an email message.
"The holidays will be very tough this year for the people of Western NC, so we really feel like we need to show up in a big way. We just received a truckload of toys that were donated to help, and we are going to do everything we can to be sure the children impacted by the storm still experience the joy and spirit of generosity that is so present during the Christmas season!"
Henson says prayer has had the biggest impact.
"It's the prayer, it's that hug it's that letting people know that they're not alone. That's probably one of the biggest things that you can really provide people's empathy and support when they feel hopeless," she explained. "And there's more to come."
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