After making landfall as a category 4 storm on September 26, Hurricane Helene tore through Western North Carolina. The subsequent floods and landslides washed away roads, homes, and an untold number of people. Helene’s current death toll for the US is 230, with many more unaccounted for. That number is above 90 now in North Carolina alone.
Last week we surveyed the damage and talked about which roads were closed and what cities were destroyed. Now it's time to focus on how to help those impacted recover and rebuild their homes and lives. And as with any major disaster, the trucking community has rushed in to aid in those efforts.
With North Carolina being a major epicenter for trucking in general, several major companies have headquarters and major plants here. And they wasted no time pledging donations to help the people who have lost everything.
These include:
- Penske (Team Penske based in Charlotte): $1 million to Samaritan's Purse, an international disaster relief based in Boone, North Carolina)
- Pilot (Based in Knoxville, Tennessee) - $300k to Red Cross and local non-profit organizations
- Daimler Trucks (Several manufacturing sites in North Carolina): $100k to Red Cross
- Volvo Group (Mack Truck and Volvo Trucks North America are based in Greensboro, North Carolina): $100k to Red Cross
- Diesel Laptops (Based in Irmo, South Carolina): 60 days of free diagnostic software to anyone involved in recovery efforts
- Noregon Systems (Based in Greensboro, North Carolina) - GoFund Me campaign (President Darren Mangus will match first $10,000; Founder Bill Hathaway will match the total number raised)
Volvo and Mack Trucks also held supply drives this week in Greensboro and Winston-Salem, respectively, with the intention of sending full trailers of food, clothes, and medical supplies to the underserved area of Flat Rock.
"Flat Rock just felt like a community that didn't have the same support that Asheville does, and we wanted to really look for a place where our efforts would be well received," explained Jessica Kopp, director of marketing operations for Mack.
We visited the Mack Rolling Relief event on Oct. 8 to get more details. Check out the video below to learn more.
Joshua Dawson, senior export engineer at Volvo and the driver who took the truck to Western North Carolina the day after the supply drive, had a personal connection to the relief effort.
"I've seen the devastation living in Florida, I've seen what it can cause," he said. "Having grown up and gone through that and lived through it, I felt the urge to [volunteer]."
Two tractors full of supplies were delivered to Flat Rock, North Carolina on Wednesday, October 9th.
"It's going to be a long road and we want to be there for every step of it," Kopp concluded.
When asked for comment, Jonathan Randall, president of Mack Trucks, said:
"Mack Trucks is all about stepping up when our neighbors need us. Our Rolling Relief drive allows us to put our wheels to work for Hurricane Helene victims. Our trucks aren't just for hauling freight – they're bringing hope to western North Carolina. We're proud to lend a hand and we're calling on everyone to join in. Together, we can make a real difference."
For more information on how to help victims of Hurricane Helene, please visit: nc.gov
And to apply for assistance, visit: disasterassistance.gov.
To support communities affected by Hurricane Milton, which swept across Central Florida's west coast on the night of Oct. 9, donate to the Florida Disaster Fund. The state's private fund has said that donations will be distributed to service organizations that help people with disaster response and recovery.
