Jennifer Pharr Davis: Hurricane Helene, The Aftermath

It’s been 18 days since the hurricane. Our power was recently restored but we are still without WiFi or water and school is scheduled to be out for no less than a month. We have friends who have lost houses, friends who lost businesses, and friends who lost houses and businesses. We don’t know anyone personally who lost their lives, but we know many people who do. And we question how much of our wider social circles have been accounted for in the wake of Helene. With so much shut down, it’s still hard to know who exactly is missing.
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When the storm hit, water poured into our basement through the window frames and a vent in the ceiling. A large tree fell beside our driveway and another splintered our fence in the backyard, but our house was spared. When the rain and wind stopped and we ventured out. There were trees everywhere. On roads. On houses. Over power lines. It looked like a giant had come through and dumped a game of pickup sticks on our neighborhood.

Continue reading to learn more, written by Jennifer Pharr Davis.