I have often thought about the use and impact of images of crisis, suffering and what they mean, but never before have I found myself on the other side of the lens.
Asheville, North Carolina where I live and the surrounding areas were recently devastated and are experiencing an ongoing crisis.
We already had flooding and saturated ground from 3 days of rain on Friday when Hurricane Helene hit our mountainous region which is not used to or prepared for hurricanes. The flooding broke all records in recorded history. All over the region power and water systems are knocked out. Cell service is scarce. Everywhere you look trees block roads or lay over power lines. Roads are washed out or blocked, entire parts of towns have been washed away in flooding.
The estimates for getting power back is a week, and weeks for running water. The only drinking water many people have at this time is what is being brought in from outside. Rescue efforts are still happening to evacuate people trapped up in mountains or bring supplies to people trapped in remote areas.
I am safe and well, but it will be a while before I'm able to return to my regular work on my channel. In the meantime I'm going to be working on a documentary about this ongoing disaster and the stories of those experiencing it. The support my patrons and paid substack subscribers means a lot during this time and is helping make this project possible.
If you'd like to support immediate response a local non-profit Beloved Asheville is handing out food and water and you can donate here. // There's a list of more ways you can help here.
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