Mega-storm, mega-damage, mega-help

South Carolina UMVIM Early Response Team springs into action after storm

By Billy Robinson

The Category 4 Hurricane Helene came ashore in the Big Bend area of Florida Sept. 26, bringing with it destruction throughout Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia and claiming the lives of at least 230 people.

Western North Carolina experienced unprecedented flooding, and much of the focus has been on recovery to that state. South Carolina had a massive amount of damage from wind and tornados, with many portions of the state looking like a bomb went off. The hurricane toppled trees in the thousands if not more, from the mid portion of the state to the North Carolina and Georgia borders. Many of these trees crashed onto and into homes, blocked roadways and tore down countless miles of power lines, leaving some communities without power for two weeks.

Around 4 a.m. Sept. 27, South Carolina started getting hit with flooding bands and tropical- to hurricane-force winds, including tornadoes. Power went out en masse.

At 6 a.m., I received a call from Ann Fairey, a member of North United Methodist Church, North, who has a lot of health problems requiring her to be on constant oxygen. She stated her power had gone off and she was out of oxygen and in desperate need. She knew I was a paramedic and volunteered with my local fire department. I and my wife, Trudy, pressed through the darkness, pouring rain, tropical force winds and falling limbs to obtain two oxygen cylinders from our department and a generator from my shed. On the way to her, we had to dodge falling trees and low power lines because of broken power poles and downed trees. A power company stopped us at one point, saying the roads were hazardous. We got to her just in time to get her oxygen back on and prevent her from going into respiratory distress.

As we left, we responded with North Volunteer Fire Department to two vehicle wrecks. It was still dark and hazardous when we arrived at the first one, where a man had run into a very big fallen pine tree. He was OK and the scene secured, though trees fell all around us. We got him away from other trees and proceeded to the second wreck.

That one involved a tractor trailer that had been driving through a low-lying area on Salley Road near the North Edisto River when two big trees fell in front of him. The driver hit the brakes, but the trees fell right in front of him, so he hit both hard. The crash tore parts of the cab off, then veered him off the road into a river landing access road, then head-on into a big pine tree. He was shaken up but said he planned to stay with his trailer, which was carrying parts for Boeing.

Trees continued to fall as we left him to cut emergency egress roads out. An hour later, three pine trees crashed onto his rig, and one big tree penetrated into the rig’s trailer section. By the grace of God, the driver was not injured throughout the entire storm.

Scenes such as this were played out across the path of Helene as first responders risked their lives to save others. Two volunteer firefighters with Circle Volunteer Fire Department, Chad Satcher and Landon Bodie, were killed in Saluda County responding to a structure fire when a tree fell on their fire truck. One other firefighter was killed in Georgia as he was helping cut out roadways and a falling tree hit the cab of his fire truck.

Eight inches of rain that first day brought floodwaters up to the threshold of my home in North, with five more inches to come. By the grace of God, we had a total of seven generators—between South Carolina’s UMVIM Early Response Team, North VFD, and personal ones—that we handed out on the first day and into that night, with four going to people on oxygen. We also provided them with fuel, which soon became scarce.

Thousands of trees were cut out of main egress roadways throughout the path of Helene on September 27 and 28 thanks to ERT efforts with help from the Department of Transportation and many volunteers. We started at daybreak in South Carolina and continued for two days. Next the focus shifted to side roads and access to people’s homes. Then came the removing of trees from on and in homes, plus tarping the damaged holes in roofs and windows. Many people had trees in their yards and other storm damage.

Helene was a mega-storm that caused mega-damage that required mega-help. This destructive storm tore families and entire communities apart but also brought out the best in people and responders. As in all disasters, we respond better and more proficiently when we respond together in one accord with one goal in mind: “Christian love in action” to quickly and proficiently meet the dire needs of the storm survivors. We did just that as we responded side by side with people of other denominations. In a coordinated effort, we were able to help hundreds of people by cutting out access to their homes, tarping their roofs, providing them with basic needs and spiritually ministering to them in loving and caring ways with prayer and scripture.

South Carolina UMVIM ERT members responded in most hard-hit areas of the state, such as parts of Orangeburg County, Manning, Edgefield, Johnston, Spartanburg, Pelzer, Chesnee, Lyman, Duncan, Easley, Anderson, Clover, Lake Wylie, North Augusta, and Aiken, as well as into Lincolnton, Georgia. In at least seven cases, we cut trees off our own homes or those of family members. We were able to show the love and care of Jesus in all situations.

Some cases stand out, such as a lady we could not help just outside of Edgefield, whose two-story home had its second floor crushed by a huge oak tree that had been removed using a big excavator. The remaining brick outer wall was leaning and about to fall. What remained of the second floor was unstable, and there was no way to tarp the damaged area to prevent further damage. Her husband had recently died, and she had family coming in the next day to help her salvage items. Her faith remained strong, and she continuously thanked us even though we did nothing physical for her. What we did was hold hands in a circle and pray for her and hug her to let her know we care—but most importantly, that Jesus cares and loves her.

We often witness families coming to the aid of their family members. One of our members, Kevin Douglass, lives in Cross, and he called me in desperation the morning the storm hit as he and his neighbor both had trees on their home with roof damage. We were still in emergency mode and not able to get to him for days. After a pleading call to Rev. Ken Phelps, Phelps and others came to the rescue of Douglass and his neighbor, removing the trees and tarping the roofs as needed.

We experienced fathers pleading with us to help their children in need and children asking us to help their parents. It was a hard and trying time but also a joyful time as we witnessed such awesome love and caring.

We used the Fred Device often in this response. The Fred Device is a heavy metal A-frame invented by Rev. Fred Buchanan. Teams used it to relieve tension from a fallen tree on a home so we can safely cut a tree off and away from a home.

Supplies are always critical to our ministry, thus we prepare ahead of time with chainsaws, extra chains, fuel oil, tarps, slats for tarps, etc. In this case, we ran low on slats and some other essentials in various areas, but God always came through in the nick of time. In one instance, Terry Rawls drove across the state to deliver slats to us that he’d made on his farm.

There will surely continue to be storms in our lives, whether natural disasters or various other kinds, such as health or financial disasters. One thing is always certain and never changes with the winds of time: God’s awesome, wonderful, caring, and gracious love for us. It is an honor for us to be used as his hands and feet to people in need. Sometimes it seems harder to get people willing to volunteer, but we will continue to carry the cross of disaster response, for Jesus is our commander and we are joyfully his servants.