This story was orginally published in print on Oct 16, 2024.
On Friday, Sept. 27, the remnants of Hurricane Helene brought devastation to the Appalachian region of North Carolina and Tennessee, affecting not only those who live there but also students, faculty and staff at Tech.
From students waiting to hear reports about friends and family living in hard hit areas to those trapped by flooding and stranded in a parking lot in Black Mountain, North Carolina, this tragedy more than 100 miles from campus left a lasting impression.
“[Waiting] was a lot of emotional trauma,” senior music major Hannah Koster said. Koster, a graduate from Cocke County High School in Newport, Tennessee, was on campus Friday, attending classes. “It seemed there was an update every two minutes over the weekend.”
“You’re far away from home and all of your friends and family and people that you know … their homes are ruined. They’ve lost everything, they’ve got family members missing and everything.”
As Koster waited on campus, Kendall Medders, an MBA student and graduate assistant with Tech athletics, and five others from campus were in a van on Interstate 40 East, ahead of the Tech football team buses and equipment vehicle, heading to a football game at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, North Carolina, unaware of the dangerous conditions they were driving toward.
Near the Tennessee-North Carolina border, the caravan was forced to turn around when the road ahead was washed out. Although instructions were texted to Medders and the others in the van at the front of the group, no one realized there was no cell service. When the text came through an hour later explaining the caravan was taking a southerly route, they were already separated.
“We kept getting re-routed [by GPS] and were running low on gas. We had about 100 miles until we were empty, so we stopped in Asheville, (North Carolina),” Medders said. “We found an exit where stop lights were working… There was power, but no one was working the gas stations… All the systems were down.”
Stopping at a grocery store at the same exit, the group looked for a working telephone to reach their supervisor and athletic trainer, Mike Brown, but telephone lines and all cell phone service were down.
Medders explained, “Our initial plan was to get as close to Gardner-Webb as possible … so someone could bring us gas. We got back on I-40 … and they shut down the interstate right in front of us and turned us off on Exit 65, which is Black Mountain.” Here the van had fuel to travel only 40 miles; Gardiner-Webb was nearly 60 miles away.
“By that point all the roads had washed away behind us. [We didn’t know] no one could get to us with gas… We had no idea what had happened behind us. We ended up in an Ingles [grocery store] parking lot.”
Medders continued, “We didn’t know [how much damage there was] until we were in it, and then we saw everything. But we didn’t realize there’d be no way to leave.”
The group of two graduate assistants, two athletic trainers and two students slept in the van Friday night in the Ingles parking lot in Black Mountain.
“It was scary but… most of the people there were also travelers who’d just gotten stuck there. All in the same boat trying to figure it out,” Medders said. “Thankfully one of us had cell service at one spot in the parking lot, so we were able to contact [Brown].”
On Saturday, the group attempted to get to a nearby shelter but found the road had washed away. They later learned the entire shelter, not just the road, was gone. Power lines were down, and many were hidden in broad daylight, covered by toppled trees and debris.
Medders said, “Complete roads and neighborhoods were just — gone.”
Working remotely to assist the stranded travelers, Peter Dalton, head coach of Tech’s women’s cross-country team, was able to reach Jose Larios, vice president of athletics at Montreat College. In a twist of fate, Larios was in the same Ingles parking lot as the group when he received Dalton’s text.
Larios was able to provide shelter for the group Saturday night at Montreat College’s athletic administration building, approximately three miles away, and breakfast on campus Sunday morning. The team also had cell service on campus and were able to reach family and friends to assure them they were doing well.
“Driving through those roads, going up the mountain [to Montreat], you realized … why they’ve got mules going on search efforts. It would have to be mules because there’s just no roads. Any road that was up there is no longer there,” Medders shared.
Tech Athletic Director Mark Wilson and his wife Melanie had gone to the football game on Saturday at Gardner-Webb. Hearing of the group’s plight, they attempted to bring gas to the travelers. According to Medders, at one point the Wilson’s were within eight miles of the group in Black Mountain but couldn’t get through.
Undaunted, eventually Wilson and other volunteers were able to clear roads, remove trees, and get into Black Mountain and to the van load of Tech travelers on Sunday at approximately 11:40 a.m.
Medders explained, “We parked at the Ingles parking lot around 3:00 p.m. on Friday, and our van stayed there the whole time. We got picked up and taken to Montreat late in the day Saturday, right before [7 o’clock] curfew, so it had to be about 6:30 p.m. We went to Montreat and then went back to the van for the whole day Sunday until [the Wilsons] got there.”
Life-threatening scenarios were everywhere both Koster and Medders turned. From a Facebook post asking for help for the Black Mountain travelers to requests for prayer for the Newport community as the water rose and lives were lost, this event left a lasting impression on both students.
Medders shared, “This lady went into labor and got picked up by a helicopter. There were Blackhawk’s circling above us, like ‘FEMA is on the way.’ It was getting more and more serious by the second.”
Koster said, “I’ve got classmates that their families have lost everything… I have friends who were sitting on top of their house waiting for someone to rescue them.”
Per Koster, her hometown of Parrottsville, Tennessee, was still without clean drinking water on Thursday, Oct. 3, as the town’s filtration system had been destroyed by the floodwater.
Numerous communities in Appalachia are facing the same plight.
Although Koster’s family and home were spared the incredible damage other communities experienced, she was deeply concerned for the neighboring town of Newport in Cocke County.
Koster explained, “In Newport, the French Broad River and the Pigeon River and others run through the area. A lot of local businesses were ruined. Downtown Newport was flooded completely… Area factories were flooded leaving many out of work.”
Medders shared, “We are doing a lot of efforts here now to give back to [Black Mountain] and hopefully get them whatever supplies they need. We are grateful to be able to do that because there’s people there who have nothing and nowhere to go. We had somewhere to escape to. That’s just their situation now.”
Koster added, “There are a lot of people reaching out, even from the Cookeville area, sending a lot of donations. Cocke County has so many donations, but North Carolina was hit too… There are a lot of very small towns that were hit with this. Those are the people who are really in need right now.”
In an effort to aid the campus community affected by this tragic event, assistance is available through the Center for Counseling and Mental Health Wellness at no cost by calling 931-372-3331, by emailing counsel@tntech.edu or by calling the Eagle Eye Crisis Hotline at 855-206-8997.
The Tech Food Pantry also has assistance available on their website (tntech.edu/foodpantry/), and the Dean of Students’ Office is available to help with affected students’ personal needs and services by emailing deanofstudents@tntech.edu.
Nationally, many charitable organizations like the Red Cross, Samaritan’s Purse, and Operation Blessing are receiving donations through their websites and organizing relief efforts to directly help people in the affected areas.
Locally, Tech athletics and Zimmer Broadcasting had a hurricane relief drive over the weekend, and other organizations and churches are accepting donations of water and supplies to fly in or transport to donation locations in the area.
