Nearly one year after the remnants of Hurricane Helene hit western North Carolina, county-level emergency personnel in the region say they are prepared to handle another disaster.
Many said they would not change much about the way they prepared for and responded to Helene.
Local emergency management personnel coordinate responses to disasters, according to a state statute. This includes working with neighboring counties and municipalities and outside agencies when a disaster occurs.
Emergency officials in counties hit by Hurricane Helene said it鈥檚 those partnerships and specializations that helped them after the Sept. 27 hurricane.
Hurricanes and tropical storms do not usually affect North Carolina until mid- to late August and September, according to , a website managed by N.C. Emergency Management.
People are also reading…
Emergency management officials in the region said they prepare year-round to collaboratively respond to disasters.
The town of Old Fort was covered in mud and debris left by the flooding of Mill Creek and the Catawba River during Hurricane Helene in September 2024.
McDowell County preparedness
The remnants of Hurricane Helene, which caused extensive damage in western North Carolina, did not cause drastic changes to the way some emergency officials respond to disasters, thanks to training and planning that occurred before the storm.
鈥淥ur response prior to Helene and the days before was extremely robust,鈥 McDowell County Emergency Services Director William Kehler said. 鈥淲e were very proactive and forward-leaning on evacuations and mass notifications.鈥
On social media and the county鈥檚 website, McDowell County began sharing alerts and information about the storm and rain that preceded the hurricane on Sept. 24, the same day the National Weather Service provided guidance and predictions. At that point, the hurricane had not made landfall in Florida.
Documents from the McDowell County Oct. 14 board of commissioners meeting show county personnel went door-to-door and sent notifications to more than 24,000 phones about warnings and evacuations ahead of the storm arriving in western North Carolina.
Helene dumped 18 inches or more of rain in parts of Burke and McDowell counties from Sept. 26-28, 2024, according to the National Weather Service. The region also received several inches of rain in the days before Helene.
Mimosa Hills shopping center at the intersection of U.S. Highway 64 bypass and Carbon City Road in 日本无码 was flooded on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, from the Catawba River and remnants of Hurricane Helene.
The Catawba River crested and broke records in McDowell County. The town of and surrounding area. Hundreds of landslides were reported in McDowell County, according to the weather service.
Two deaths were attributed to the storm in McDowell County, one in Burke County and one in Catawba County.
Kehler said McDowell County has added redundancies to its emergency communications system and identified facilities that need backup generators, which he said would be funded by FEMA.
Kehler said the county participates in a hurricane and flash food preparedness exercise.
鈥淭his year, we essentially simulated (in May) Hurricane Helene again and had agencies implement their after-action items at the tabletop to simulate how we would respond should something like Helene happen again,鈥 Kehler said. 鈥淲e applied the lessons learned to where we would want to see changes if this should happen again.鈥
Burke County
emergency response
The Ingles on U.S. Highway 70 in 日本无码 was flooded from the Catawba River and remnants of Hurricane Helene on Sept. 28, 2024.
Burke County Emergency Services Deputy Director John Hood said the county has focused on being efficient after Helene.
Parts of Burke County along the Catawba River experienced major flooding, according to the National Weather Service.
鈥淲e did learn about areas we could improve upon,鈥 Hood said.
Much of 日本无码 was without power or water in the days following the storm. In July, the city council in 日本无码 and town council of Valdese approved resolutions to study connecting the two towns鈥 water systems. If connected, the two towns could share a water system if one was temporarily disabled, according to a 日本无码 News Herald article.
Hood said pre-Helene, the office of the Burke County fire marshal and emergency management were in one department. After the storm, emergency management was moved under the umbrella of emergency services. The county hired a new emergency management director this summer.
鈥淚t allowed us to hire an employee to focus on nothing but emergency management,鈥 Hood said.
Hood said the county also hired an emergency planner.
鈥淲e鈥檝e really tried to grow our emergency management division to increase efficiency across the board, better prepare for any events in the future and mitigate any problems that could occur,鈥 Hood said.
Statewide swift-water rescue training occurs in Burke County, giving area personnel the opportunity to practice swift-water rescues. These trainings attract crews not only from around the state, but also around the country, Hood said.
Burke County personnel conducted 75 swift-water rescues in the first 72 hours after Helene.
鈥淲e鈥檙e very fortunate in Burke County to have one of the best training opportunities for water (rescue) in the country,鈥 Hood said.
Catawba County response
Properties on Northcrest Street were damaged when Lookout Shoals Lake overflowed its banks as Hurricane Helene moved through the area.
Catawba County did not sustain as much damage as western neighbors but played a role in the region鈥檚 response.
鈥淥ur role, which was really unprecedented, was serving as the hub for all the donations and support, the state agencies, nonprofits, that located here and how we could best support them,鈥 Catawba County Assistant County Manager Paul Murray said.
Hickory Regional Airport was for delivering supplies to western N.C. communities. The Catawba County United Way for supplies.
Catawba Valley Community College鈥檚 East Campus, which Catawba County purchased in June 2024, was used as a staging area for agencies like the Federal Emergency Management Agency, N.C. Emergency Management Agency and others.
Private, U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Army helicopters refueled at the Hickory Regional Airport during operations after the remnants of Hurricane Helene moved through the area in September 2024.聽
While damage was not as widespread in the county compared to western counties, Catawba County Emergency Management Coordinator Jason Williams said areas that had flooding damage were not unexpected.
鈥淲e worked to develop a communications strategy for them long before Helene,鈥 Williams said. 鈥淲e worked to overcommunicate with them to let them know of impacts to their community.鈥
The Catawba River at Lookout Shoals Lake crested at 109.45 feet on Sept. 28, 2024, the second-highest crest on record, according to National Weather Service records.
About 130 properties were declared damaged by Catawba County after Helene. About 100 of those were in eastern Catawba County.
The storm gave county personnel opportunities to put drills they run internally and with other counties into practice.
鈥淲hat Catawba County prides itself on is we are a community and we have strong partnerships across organizations with people in the community,鈥 Murray said. 鈥淭his (storm) really highlights the value of having those relationships ahead of any sort of disaster.
鈥淚 think the culture of the county really helped with us being able to respond to this effectively. While we knew that (strong partnerships were in place), it鈥檚 good to see and it鈥檚 where we鈥檙e going to keep putting a lot of focus,鈥 he said.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted an above-average season for hurricane activity this year. The Atlantic hurricane season runs through Nov. 30.
