Hurricane Helene Response & Recovery

On September 22,2024, a low pressure system emerged in the western Caribbean Sea, which eventually became Hurricane Helene. By September 26, 2024, Helene had intensified into a category four Hurricane with  winds reaching 140 miles per hour, setting its sights on Florida. On that same day, we mobilized our response team, initiated a Sustainable Energy Response Fundraiser for Hurricane Helene, and packed up a solar trailer for deployment to the Big Bend region to assist for the duration of the storm and for recovery efforts. Registering as one of the largest hurricanes to impact the continental U.S., Helene brought more than 14 inches of rain, and unprecedented flooding and landslides.

One of our first stops in Florida was Perry Cove Mobile Home and RV Park, where many residents were relying on electricity for essentials like CPAP machines and cold storage for insulin. Collaborating with Mutual Aid Disaster Relief, we set up a battery library, ensuring that families and residents there had access to power and remained safe until the power grid was restored.

We also partnered with Smart AID to provide a charging station and support refrigeration, freezer, and air conditioning power needs at Steinhatchee Fish Company, a small staple of the coastal community in Taylor County, Florida that provided supply distribution for hundreds of people daily and was transformed into a resource hub after the storm. 

On the morning of Friday, September 27, 2024 Hurricane Helene arrived in Western North Carolina, triggering the deadliest and most destructive storm in North Carolina’s modern history. Helene impacted six states overall and killed just over 100 people in North Carolina, which is where our team headed after leaving Florida.

We arrived in Western North Carolina on September 28, 2024 to assess the damage from the storm. Millions of people were without power and hundreds of homes had been ripped from their foundations, towns destroyed, roads washed away, and rivers completely rerouted. Witnessing the devastation, we knew that our response effort in WNC would be a long term recovery operation. 

“The devastation was cataclysmic and the needs were endless,” said Jamie Swezey, Program Director at Footprint Project. “I don’t think we’ve ever been inundated with that many requests for assistance. Although we were surrounded by requests from people seeking help, we were also surrounded by people reaching out to help us. It’s incredibly humbling and beautiful to be a part of an enormous web of generosity in North Carolina.”

In the first few weeks of our response effort, dozens of requests for assistance continued to pour in. In addition to all of the requests that were coming from the city of Asheville, one of the hardest hit areas in WNC, we also received reports that rural areas including Swannanoa, Hot Springs, and Chimney Rock had been leveled or left in complete ruins. Officials released estimates that Hurricane Helene caused just over $50 billion in damages. 

Hurricane Helene quickly became our largest response and recovery operation to date. Since our teams arrived in North Carolina, we’ve raised more than $200,000 and allocated nearly $400,000 worth of sustainable response equipment towards communities affected by the storm. To date, we have supported more than 70 sites with portable solar generators, mobile solar microgrids, atmospheric water generators, and satellite communication hubs. As we triaged, deployed, re-deployed, delivered equipment and coordinated volunteers as quickly and efficiently as possible, many people who we had the privilege of assisting reached out to say thanks.  

“We received the portable power stations you brought in, which are absolutely fantastic. We gave some to the fire department and now we don’t have to run our generators. Thank you, thank you, thank you.” 

-Bat Cave, NC Community Member

“I cannot express how grateful Mandala Springs is for the effort and kindness of you all at Footprint Project. Having connectivity has enabled us to do a huge outreach and interaction with the disaster committees in the area, and we are now ramping up our delivery of potable and non-potable water down the valley to those areas that will be without for a significant period of time.”

A grandmother in the Mount Mitchell community who relies on oxygen and is caring for two of her grandchildren was dealing with nightly power outages and was anxious about maintaining a steady supply of oxygen and keeping insulin refrigerated, among other essential needs. Our team was able to successfully equip her family with two solar panels, several portable power stations, and a Schneider off-grid portable solar panel. 

Camp Miller in Pensacola, Florida is being used as an aid station where community members in WNC can come to pick up hot meals, shower, and receive other essential supplies. When this hub was first established, they were using gas generators to keep everything running. Since we arrived there to set up solar panels, solar microgrids, and a solar trailer to accommodate their power needs shortly after Hurricane Helene dissipated, they haven’t had to use any gas generators to keep food and insulin cool or to keep showers running. 

“Footprint was one of the early contributors and we believe in collaborating with people who are doing the most good,” said Brian Delaney, Leader at Camp Miller. “Footprint has been one of those organizations that’s absolutely done that. When we were having to run everything off generators, they were able to come in and give us the solar as well as two refrigerators so we could keep food cold and serve meals to the people that were coming.”

We were also able to get a well pump running on a solar microgrid so a legacy community of mobile home parks in Asheville could source and share water, and facilitate the drops of a portable battery, flexible solar panel and Starlink out of a helicopter to families stuck in the mountains so they could reach out for help. 

In Rural Garren Creek, we were able to set up a solar microgrid at a fire station to run fridges, freezers, and comms, displacing their generator. Using the atmospheric water generator we also set up for them allowed people to flush toilets and keep relief teams hydrated without using single-use bottled water resources. We accomplished all of this with the help of our amazing staff, volunteers and the resilient community members throughout Western North Carolina. 

In early November, we shifted our approach from immediate response to long-term recovery planning and implementation in Western North Carolina. This included bringing on board a local program manager to enhance and broaden our efforts. Additionally, we launched the Western North Carolina Free Store in collaboration with the WNC Repair Cafe. This initiative is designed to support ongoing recovery and resilience efforts in Western North Carolina and nearby areas by distributing a variety of renewable energy equipment that Footprint Project acquired during our response to Hurricane Helene. Our aim is to provide this equipment free of charge, enabling the community to rebuild stronger and more sustainably.

We extend many thanks for all of the generous support from our donors and all of our response partners.