My Asheville Neighbors Urgently Need Food, Water After Flood

UPDATE 10:10: We have a front yard water station setup and continue to provide fresh water and supplies to neighbors who are coming to fill up buckets at the creek in front of our house. On Sunday we have a group going in to a friends home that severely flooded to begin cleanup. Thank you all for the love and support. We have been overwhelmed by the compassion of our friends, coworkers, and community.

UPDATE 10/4: We delivered another round of supplies to the Emma neighborhood, where many folks relied on public transportation and don’t have a way to get to distribution sites. We found a place in Knoxville that sells used rain barrels and are filling them with fresh water to bring into Asheville tomorrow. Thank you all for your kind messages, support, and generosity. It’s overwhelming.

UPDATE: we delivered one truckload of supplies to Asheville today. There was a line waiting when we pulled in, and it was all gone in a matter of hours. Because of your generosity, we are able to do another run tomorrow 10/2 to bring back food and water to neighbors. Tomorrow we plan to deliver to a low income neighborhood in Emma, just a few minutes from Dawn’s house. Thank you all so much. Asheville needs all the help it can get.

I’m an Asheville resident and just experienced the 1000 year flood event and Hurricane Helene. My friend Dawn and I were able to make it out of Asheville to Knoxville, TN and we are renting a box truck to fill with water and supplies to take back to our neighbors. There is no electricity, water, or cell service. Every major interstate into the area is closed with mudslides or worse.

We have heard it could be one month before water is restored and an estimated 7 days before power is restored. We have friends who lost everything. So many businesses wiped off the map. A neighbor with a sick infant. The most pressing need seems to be water, fuel for grills and stoves, and canned food.

We got out through a roundabout route over the tiny Rankin bridge that survived and plan to fill the truck today and tomorrow and head back in on Tuesday 10/1. Anything helps.