“They’ve been here”: For many in Hurricane Helene’s path, North Carolina Baptists provide home-repair lifeline
When it comes to rapid repairs in mountain communities ravaged by the hurricane, Baptists on Mission has come to the rescue. YONAT SHIMRON, of Religion News Service, reports…
Postcards: After Helene, one Asheville church finds a way to step up
In less than four months, Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church has doled out more than $US3.5 million in rent support to hundreds of people who have walked through its doors. YONAT SHIMRON, of Religion News Service, reports…
Trump mulls scrapping FEMA, pledges disaster help to North Carolina, California
Los Angeles, US Reuters US President Donald Trump on Friday floated shuttering the Federal Emergency Management Agency during a trip to disaster areas in North Carolina and California, where he pledged government support and sparred with Democratic officials. Fresh from assuming office on Monday, Trump’s visit showcased a desire to show up early in the […]
“Not an act of God”: How Rev Richard Joyner became a farmer, then a climate activist
Richard Joyner has a new rejoinder to his congregants: “God is not flooding the land. Our behaviour is destroying the environment.” YONAT SHIMRON, of Religion News Service, reports…
“Paradise is still paradise” – Floridians vow to rebuild after two hurricanes
Siesta Key, Florida, US Reuters Chris Fiore was supposed to be accepting delivery of new household appliances and furniture, replacing items that were swamped by Hurricane Helene just a few weeks ago. Instead, the resident of Siesta Key, the Florida barrier island town where Hurricane Milton made landfall this week, was using a broom to […]
Battered Florida begins long recovery from back-to-back major hurricanes
Fort Pierce, Florida, US Reuters Millions of Floridians began a long and difficult recovery on Friday after the state’s second major hurricane in two weeks, restoring power, shovelling mud from flooded homes and clearing mountains of debris left by Milton and Helene. While some coastal cities such as Tampa were spared the catastrophic surge of […]
Hurricane Milton bears down on Florida’s west coast, millions flee
St Petersburg, Florida Reuters An expanding Hurricane Milton closed in on Florida’s west coast on Wednesday, spawning tornados and lashing the region with rain and wind hours ahead of its expected landfall near Tampa Bay, where it could deliver a life-threatening surge of seawater to waterfront communities already battered by Hurricane Helene. As many as […]
Florida braces for Hurricane Milton on the heels of Helene
Reuters Florida prepared on Sunday for its largest evacuation since 2017 as Hurricane Milton intensified in the Gulf of Mexico on its path toward the US state’s western coast, coming on the heels of the devastating Hurricane Helene. Milton, which strengthened from a tropical storm to hurricane on Sunday, was projected to make landfall on […]
Will Asheville’s once-booming riverfront art district ever recover from Helene?
Asheville, North Carolina Reuters The river that runs through Asheville, North Carolina, is littered with artwork drifting downstream after deadly floods from Hurricane Helene decimated the mountain city’s arts district, a linchpin of tourism in the area that some residents fear will never recover. Some of the 300 artists and designers who work out of […]
By mule and helicopter, volunteers deliver aid to Helene victims
Asheville, North Carolina Reuters An army of private volunteers including mule drivers and helicopter pilots are helping deliver supplies and rescue stranded victims after one of the deadliest storms in recent US history ripped through the mountains of western North Carolina. One week after Helene slammed into the Florida Panhandle and devastated wide swaths of […]