Hannah Orloff - Article on Hurricane Helene & Appalachia
Hurricane Helene catastrophically hit the eastern United States in the region that I would have guessed last on my list, southern Appalachia. Towns along the foothills of the Appalachian mountains were swept away by mudslides and increased river flow to a degree that was absolutely terrifying. Snaking through these towns and trees is the Appalachian trail, which received a devastating blow from the storm as well. In fact, according to an article published by the Appalachian trail conservancy, in the 100 years that the trail has existed this event was the most destructive one ever to occur. In response to the destruction caused by Helene, the ATC developed the Appalachian Trail resilience fund, which allows anyone who wants to help with the destruction to pitch in if they are unable to make it out to the rural locations that were destroyed. The fund is also a reserve that can be used to help with future destruction if they are to occur. With the changing climate and influx of tropical storms due to the warming ocean, having this fund is certainly not a terrible idea. To see pictures of towns that I had just been to a few months ago, and slept in, absolutely destroyed by the hurricane was chilling to say the least. I hope that these communities that were affected make a full recovery, and that the trail recovers as well. When I am done with school, I would like to help out with cleanup events and maintenance of the trail too, so I will save the link to this article below for future reference.
article link: https://appalachiantrail.org/news/appalachian-trail-resiliency-fund-launched-to-accelerate-helene-recovery/
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