Help turn the tide against Florence

Published 10:29 pm Wednesday, September 19, 2018

It doesn’t matter if it’s a just a dollar or a pack of bottled water. People suffering from Hurricane Florence need our help, and more and more people are getting involved from across the country while the death toll keeps rising.

At least 37 people have died from storm-related incidents, including 27 in North Carolina alone, CBS News reported on Tuesday. There are 343,000 people without power in North Carolina, and nearly 36 inches of rain has fallen on Elizabethtown, N.C. while other towns in the state have seen roughly 30 inches since Thursday.

The Cape Fear River was reported to have risen up to 54 feet on Monday and was expected to crest 62 feet on Tuesday. Parts of Fayetteville were already underwater, yet the worst was still to come.

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“This a monumental disaster for our state,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said in the CBS News report. “In many parts of North Carolina, the danger is still immediate.”

Organizations, families and individuals across the country have responded with food, rescue and whatever else they could manage.

Operation BBQ Relief, a Missouri-based organization, told CBS News that it had deployed its “barbecue enthusiasts” to Wilmington and Fayetteville to support recovery efforts with hot meals for displaced residents and first responders. The Wilmington and Fayetteville deployment locations are capable of producing up to 50,000 meals per day, the organization said.

Cajun Navy Relief and Rescue, a nationwide nonprofit group of volunteers, was created after flooding hit southern Louisiana in 2016. The nonprofit’s team in Lumberton, N.C. evacuated 40 people from Highland Acres Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, many of whom were bedridden, CBS News reported.

It apparently took five hours to rescue them and bring them to area hospitals.

“Yeah, we are risking our lives, but this is worth it,” Chris Russell, one of the volunteers, told CBS News.

Relief efforts for Florence are also picking up in Suffolk, like the pro staff with The Fallen Outdoors, who were right outside the North Main Street Walmart on Wednesday to collect donations of clothing, diapers, batteries, feminine hygiene products and anything else that needs to head south.

“The people are in dire straits right now. They need our help,” said Billy Richardson, one of the Walmart shoppers and generous donors on Wednesday. “They can’t get out to go to work. Most of them can’t even get out to go to the grocery store. We need to just help them and support them. I know they’d do the same for us if we were in that same situation.”

Here’s how you can do your part to help. You can donate online to the American Red Cross at redcross.org/donate/hurricane-florence-donations.html, or print out the form from the website and mail your donations to American Red Cross PO Box 37839, Boone, Iowa 50037-0839. You can also donate over the phone at 1-800-435-7669.

You can also search online for collection drives by The Salvation Army, Americares, GoFundMe and others. You can donate money, blood or your time as a volunteer to any organization looking for support.

These people need help and we need to figure out how to do our part as soon as possible.