Torrential rains battered Asheville, North Carolina, for days on end over the last week as a result of Hurricane Helene, which ultimately intensified to a Category 4 storm, and another storm system.
Gov. Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency before Helene made landfall in Florida on Sept. 26, warning state residents to prepare for severe weather.
However, perhaps no one anticipated that the Swannanoa River would crest at historic levels not seen since 1791, according to the North Carolina State Climate Office, leaving destruction in its wake and upending the lives of those who call the thriving mountain town their home.
To assist in recovery efforts, the Biden administration approved federal disaster assistance through FEMA. Still, no amount of assistance can replace the lives lost. As of Sept. 30, the Associated Press reports that Helene is responsible for the deaths of at least 121 across six states, and Asheville's Buncombe County expects its toll of 40 to rise as rescuers continue to work.
As Christopher Ingraham (@_cingraham), a reporter for the independent, nonprofit news organization Minnesota Reformer highlighted, the devastation called into question whether the narrative about "climate havens" adequately describes the challenges the Earth is facing as global temperatures warm.
One thing Asheville underscores for me is the inadequacy of so many media narratives about "climate havens." pic.twitter.com/xD0pVXVVos
— Christopher Ingraham🦗 (@_cingraham) September 30, 2024
Four years ago, the Institute for Economics & Peace estimated that around 1.2 billion people could be displaced by 2050 if natural disasters continue at the rate they've occurred over the past several decades, as a warmer climate has supercharged events like hurricanes.
Places like Asheville have been widely billed as attractive destinations largely spared from the worst effects of climate change, as Ingraham's digging reveals, with one 2022 report by ABC 13 News explaining that people were moving to the mountain town to escape extreme weather.
As Asheville acknowledges in its 2018 climate resilience report, though, it too has not been immune from the effects of rising global temperatures, citing the need to consider the possibility of increased flooding and other climate-related supply chain threats.
As part of its climate resource guide, the city encourages residents to have an emergency plan and go-kit ready in case of disaster and also provides information about flooding mitigation techniques — from sandbags to temporary flood barriers — as well as more long-term solutions like incorporating native vegetation into their landscaping to reduce stormwater impacts.
Ultimately, Ingraham suggests that the marketing of real estate agents and developers may be a driving factor to the overall "climate haven" narrative that doesn't tell the whole story. As Asheville begins to recover from a historic disaster after what CNN described as a one-in-1,000-year rain event, residents are in need of assistance, and many are without power.
"This is an unprecedented tragedy that requires an unprecedented response," Cooper said at a press conference on Sunday, per CBS News.
The Cool Down has published a guide of ways to help people affected by the hurricane here.
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