Parts of East Tennessee and West North Carolina continue to recover following devastation flooding from Hurricane Helene
Knoxville, Tenn. – Lives forever changed as water ripped through parts of Western North Carolina and East Tennessee in late September.
Nearly 400 miles from where Hurricane Helene made landfall on Sept. 26 along Florida’s Big Bend, small mountain towns were all but washed away from flooding.
Soon after the destruction, Tennessee football Head Coach Josh Heupel extended his thoughts to those impacted by the floods.
“I just want to convey our thoughts and prayers going out to everybody as they are dealing with loss of power, loss of loved ones. So much damage was created here, certainly in this footprint, so our thoughts and prayers go out to everybody again. Hopefully, everybody gets back to normal as quickly as possible,” said Heupel.
And nearly 200 miles from Knoxville to Mountain City, TN relief efforts ensued.
Some of those efforts have been spearheaded by Tennessee’s offensive lineman, Dayne Davis.
The OT is an East Tennessee native, born and raised in Bluff City is roughly 45 miles from Mountain City and about 100 miles from Chimney Rock, North Carolina.
Growing up so close to those areas and having loved ones who live in the affected areas, he knew he had to do something.
So, shortly following Tennessee’s return to Knoxville following their trip to Fayetteville to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks, Davis was in his car on his way to assist in hurricane relief efforts.
“I was able to go yesterday, back to Neva, Tennessee, just above Mountain City, which is probably a good two-and-a-half, two hours and 45 minutes, it’s a good little drive,” said Davis.
What he was delivering was thousands of dollars in necessities.
“We took about $4,500 worth of groceries and other items that were needed to Elizabethton and Parks & Recreation,” said Davis.
This destruction hit especially close to home for Davis, as one of his best friends life has changed forever.
“One of my best friends who I fish with a lot in the offseason, his family owns a farm. They have lost four houses on that farm that were swept away by what was about a six-foot wide creek,” said Davis.
As Davis began his near-three-hour drive to Neva, the closer he got the worse the destruction became.
“You are just driving up the mountain and you look off of the side of the road, and there is a car wrapped around a tree, there’s a house that has been completely ripped off its platform. There’s a lot of people up there that need help. It’s just really sad to see what’s come to the region,” said Davis.
As relief efforts continue, so too does Davis’s.
“I’m just trying to use my platform to help those people back home. If there are people out there that are able to donate, there are people that really need it,” said Davis.
If you feel inspired to help in his efforts, you can visit his GoFundMe page to continue to the mission.
So far they’ve been able to raise more than $5,000 meeting half of their total goal.
You can also visit Alumni Hall to purchase Mountain Strong merchandise to support Hurricane Relief Efforts.