September 30, 2024
The remnants of Hurricane Helene continued to devastate communities and claim lives in the Southeast over the weekend. The storm has left a reported 800-mile path of destruction that has impacted numerous states — among them Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The death toll had climbed to more than 90 people on Monday, Sept. 30, according to the latest reports.
Baptist Disaster Relief teams are mobilizing throughout the region to respond to the widespread damage. Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief coordinator Dwain Carter said Saturday that the response in the wake of Hurricane Helene’s rampage would be an “all hands on deck effort.”
In western North Carolina flooding and mudslides have devastated homes and communities, wiped away roads and left many cut off from the outside world. Because of spotty cell phone service, many have been unable to contact family to let them know they survived the flooding.
Among the damage was Ridgecrest Conference Center in Black Mountain, where Baptists and others have gathered for various retreats and events through the years. The conference center, which used to be owned by Lifeway Christian Resources, was forced to temporarily close over the weekend after some of its facilities were left damaged and underwater.
“No power, no phones at Ridgecrest. Very limited cell service throughout Western NC that comes and goes,” a Facebook post from Ridgecrest said over the weekend. “Thank you for your continued prayers! Ridgecrest Conference Center is closed to all events and guests until further notice, but we look forward to hosting people again as soon as we can.”
The conference center noted they were caring for a few guests who had been unable to return home because of flooding and closed roads.
“We are also working with local emergency services and providing rooms for emergency personnel coming from outside the area,” Ridgecrest reported. “There will be much to clean up and repair in the weeks ahead, but our primary focus right now is life, safety and assisting our first responders.
“Our most pressing concern right now is our water system, which supplies not only our camps and conference center but also 300+ customers in our surrounding area. Our levels are critically low with no electricity to pump more from our wells.”
“Damage is significant but much less than it could have been … thank you for your continued prayers!”
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This story first appeared in The Baptist Paper.
