Tucked in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, Western North Carolina rarely experiences dramatic weather events such as a hurricane. But in September 2024, Hurricane Helene devastated the 25-county region and claimed more than 100 lives.
Before the storm hit, Blue Ridge Public Radio (BPR) began covering weather warnings, evacuations and early power outages through live blog posts. BPR staff reported from shelters where hundreds of people sought refuge from the worst natural disaster in the state’s history. Even before the storm hit, local officials made water rescues from the early flooding.
When the storm moved in, it created landslides that destroyed major thoroughfares in and out of Asheville, isolating thousands of residents and cutting the city off from desperately-needed resources from the east. The French Broad River crested at more than 24 feet, washing away homes and businesses in a violent torrent of water that ripped through the city. Basic infrastructure collapsed, leaving thousands of residents without power, water or cell service.
The storm created challenges common to natural disasters in the United States: power outages, road closures and limited cell accessibility. But Hurricane Helene created an unprecedented challenge for the Asheville area: The storm devastated the typically pristine reservoir that provides the bulk of the city’s water, creating a secondary crisis of more than 100,000 people without water.
Two of the team’s seven reporters were stranded in the neighboring municipalities of Brevard and Sylva without any means of communication for more than 24 hours.
With cell coverage, internet and power sources down, residents tuned into BPR with battery-operated or hand-crank radios for lifesaving information. The small staff at the Asheville station shifted from regular programming to a 24-hour news channel. They worked not only on reporting the latest news as the damage became more apparent, but also on making sure the back-up generator had enough power to keep a single studio running until power was restored.
The news team provided audience members with information about their fundamental needs: food, water, electricity and even oxygen and insulin. The team told audiences how to report missing people and where to find shelter.
The effects were not limited to the local area. BPR’s audience expanded to its widest reach, including those outside Western NC who sought information about the region. BPR staff fielded calls, emails and direct messages from family members who could not locate missing loved ones after the flooding.
For weeks after the storm, the team continued to provide important news and information to the community.
