We are no stranger to storm damage in the Midwest. Hail, tornados, and derechos can wreak havoc on our acres. But for everything we deal with, except for the 2020 derecho, it is nothing compared to the strength of a hurricane.
The Southeastern part of the country is licking its wounds after Hurricane Helene hit late last week. North Carolina took the brunt of the damage. Cities like Ashville are dealing with extreme destruction. But outside of the cities, rural parts of the state are in devastation. Our friends at the Southern Farm Network shared the story with us.
Rural North Carolina received over 20 inches of rain over four days. Combined with the other destructive forces of Hurricane Helene, it wiped farms right off the map. Linda Pryor is a Henderson County, North Carolina farmer who describes the aftermath.
Trees are down everywhere. Roads are blocked or completely washed away
Pryor says that she and her husband have been helping neighbors who are worse off than them.
Pryor says whole fields are just gone.
The western part of the state in the Blue Ridge Mountains didn’t get as heavily damaged as the low country.
Pryor says that while they are very grateful for the helicopters full of humanitarian aid, farmers desperately need feed and hay.
