SWANNANOA, N.C. (BP) – The overturned box truck not far from First Baptist Church may be the best example of what it’s like in Swannanoa four months since Hurricane Helene dumped historic amounts of rain on North Carolina, leading to epic flooding and destruction throughout the state’s western region.
There has been progress on cleaning up debris, but a lot remains. The truck is one of the more obvious examples. At Christmas someone threw lights across it and a tree on top.
It’s one of many signs people are trying to make the best of their situation, said First Baptist pastor Jeff Dowdy.
“It’s been pretty slow,” he told Baptist Press on Jan. 14. “There is still a good bit of debris. Some heavily damaged commercial buildings are still standing.”
Good news came recently for those without housing, as FEMA extended hotel vouchers for approximately 3,000 displaced residents to Jan. 25.
“People are doing their best to return to normal,” Dowdy said. “Things are much less muddy than the first few weeks after the storm. Sinkholes have been filled.”
Churches have continued to help where they can. First Baptist became a distribution hub in the early days following the rains. They have continued to do that, primarily with small heaters.
To get a sense of the current state of rebuild, BP reached out to pastors who were part of the initial reporting following Helene.
In an area that didn’t experience the physical damage others endured, West Burnsville Baptist Church nevertheless responded to the lack of fresh water by digging a well on its property.
Not long ago, representatives from Samaritan’s Purse contacted the church. They wanted to build a facility “about the size of a family life center” on the church’s property, said West Burnsville pastor Chris Fox. The goal would be to eventually construct 100 homes. In three to five years, the building would be gifted to the church. Water for it is expected to be provided by the recently-dug well.
“Our church has continued to distribute items for the community a couple of times a week,” said Fox, adding that a ground-breaking for the new building is scheduled for later this month.
Volunteers with North Carolina Baptists on Mission have been working alongside the church in its response. Baptists on Mission recently purchased a building behind WBBC, Fox said, that used to be a nursing home. It will be fixed up to host groups coming in for the region’s ongoing rebuild.
The building is one of four that Baptists on Mission has purchased for that reason, said director Tom Beam. The others are in Spruce Pine, Black Mountain and East Flat Rock.
Despite the steps forward, frustrations remain for citizens. The overwhelming majority – rightly so – didn’t see a need for flood insurance in the mountains. Schools have struggled to re-establish any kind of consistency for students since the storm. Online learning isn’t much better of an option, as connectivity has also struggled to come back online.
There is an abundance of positives, though.
“We’ve seen so much collaboration among churches and ministries,” Fox said. “There are regular meetings. People learn from each other. Neighbors have washed clothes and cooked for one another.
“There have been 35 professions of faith I know of, as groups like Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association have shared the Gospel with people.”
He added that over $100,000 in grants and gifts have come to the church from various sources, individuals as well as groups like businesses. One of the many ways that has been used is through helping two church members who lost everything in the floods.
That’s also the experience shared by Stacy Harris, pastor at Trinity of Fairview Baptist Church.
“Individual churches have sent us $10,000 checks to help,” said Harris, whose home became a place of rest and fellowship for many after Helene. “People heard about us in Baptist Press and wanted to help.”
For those throughout the region, but particularly the hollers where Harris ministers, sources like insurance and FEMA are “hit-or-miss.” Financial gifts to his church have gone toward projects undertaken by the Trinity of Fairview Rebuild Team to fix homes.
In addition to home reconstruction, the church has also looked into how to help with mortgages and provided cars for those without. That last partnership involved a local dealership, but connections and other support have come from churches in other states as well as the North American Mission Board.
The physical destruction is apparent, but the psychological damage is just as strong.
“I’ve lived here for 56 years and never seen anything like [the storm],” said Harris. “We’re seeing a lot of trauma in folks. Two in our church had their homes split by the flood. People are trying to figure out if they can mentally and emotionally recover.”
Coming back involves steps like local businesses reopening, such as Angelo’s, a family-owned restaurant.
“It was good to see and a sign of things returning to normal,” Harris said.
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