Courtesy of Abby Nelson
The impact of Helene has been devastating. At least 215 have died, hundreds are missing, and over half of the deaths were in North Carolina. Nelson said she never could have anticipated the aftermath of the hurricane.
“I had close peers who had family who lost power and service, and I have a friend whose house was entirely gone by that flood a couple hours away,” Nelson said. “So there was a lot of pain and anxiety in the community, especially in the college over this past weekend from Saturday to Sunday as well, as we found out what was happening around us.”
WNC, the University of North Carolina Asheville, and other colleges in the state have canceled classes until the end of October as they work to repair damage on campus and restore power and water. College students impacted by the hurricane told BI that while their communities have banded together to help those in need, they’re also left in limbo regarding their classes, finances, and plans for the future.
“Entire towns are destroyed, and there’s so much flooding and so much hurt, it’s a lot to take in,” Nelson said. “That’s been a hard part, as well, about being in college here because I’m just not used to the hurricanes around any of these states. So it’s just been a lot of anxiety and unsureness about that, as well.”
‘You don’t realize how many things you think about once you’ve been displaced’
Asa Hoffman and Ashley Wahlers, both 21, are seniors at UNC Asheville, where classes are canceled until October 28. Having grown up in central North Carolina, Hoffman said he was used to hurricane season and didn’t think Asheville would be too severely impacted. But after the campus lost power, water, and any contact with family members off campus, the scale of the hurricane began to set in.
Hoffman and his girlfriend Wahlers left campus on September 28 to stay at his home in Chapel Hill. Wahlers said that she waited in line at the gas station for three hours, and she realized that the card readers weren’t working and she didn’t have any cash, so a woman at the station filled up the tank for her.
While Hoffman and Wahlers have received periodic communications from the university on the next steps, they didn’t realize how disruptive the hurricane had been until they left campus.
“When we first got back, a lot of it is just figuring things out,” Hoffman said. “You don’t realize how many things you think about once you’ve been displaced.”
Courtesy of Aly Andrews
Recovery efforts for Hurricane Helene continue. President Joe Biden’s administration approved over $20 million for hurricane survivors and deployed up to 1,000 troops to deliver food, water, and supplies to impacted communities.
But the recovery will take a while. Patrick Curry, 26, a student at UNC Asheville, told BI over text — because he did not have enough signal to speak on the phone — that not everyone can apply for FEMA aid because of the lack of power and Internet access.
“This storm crippled the area,” Curry said. “I used to work in hospitality in Asheville and a lot of people I worked with have lost everything. No one can work right now and rent was due yesterday.”