Photo: Patrik Jonsson | The Christian Science Monitor
As Hurricane Helene set off one of the largest national emergency efforts since Hurricane Katrina, many on the front lines felt that the very worst that nature could conjure was met by the very best America had to give. In a scene replicated over 6,000 times across Appalachia, neighbors and first responders used everything from sofa cushions and paddleboards to mules and helicopters to rescue friends and strangers. In Hendersonville, community-building lessons have come hard and fast. Many of the 20 or so flood-damaged homes have been gutted. Neighbors have set up feeding stations, two local contractors took on leadership roles, and neighbors gathered in small clutches to talk. “I think people had perceptions of each other that broke down as we worked together,” says Lionel Delavas, a former Californian. “There was distrust before the storm that is now gone. It has readjusted people’s focus on what is important.”
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