Refuge before the Storm

Refuge before the Storm

This is the front entrance of the Red Cross shelter at the First Baptist Church of Swannanoa, which I believe was the first Red Cross Shelter in North Carolina for Hurricane Helene. This picture was taken on the afternoon of September 26, 2024, after we were starting to get an idea of how bad things were going to be, but before the worst of the storm hit. I'm a local Red Cross volunteer and I worked this shelter until 7pm on the 26th and then switched off with the next shift, planning to come back the next day. By the time I managed to make it back from Weaverville to Swannanoa it was Saturday morning. By then the shelter had been closed and moved elsewhere due to Helene's incredible devastation. In the end, more than 600 Red Cross volunteers from all over the country would be deployed to the region to help with relief efforts.