The 2024 hurricane season has been incredibly deadly and destructive. As millions of Americans, particularly in hard-hit North Carolina, struggle to recover from Hurricane Helene, RJ Logistics encourages the logistics community to support ongoing relief efforts.
Restoring Logistics and Rebuilding Communities
As of Oct. 28, more than 400 roads in North Carolina, including the Blue Ridge Parkway, remained closed following the late-September slam from Hurricane Helene. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) said on Oct. 24 that travel between western North Carolina and Tennessee was still extremely limited, especially for trucks longer than 30 feet. A reopening date for Interstates 40 and 26 at the Tennessee and North Carolina line is “currently unknown.”
“Ongoing response efforts remain the priority, and non-essential traffic hinders recovery efforts and work by emergency responders. Those drivers who must reach this region should expect excessive traffic delays in the affected areas due to emergency response activities,” FMCSA said.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation maintains a road reopening dashboard and warns that “hazards, limited supplies, and traffic delays remain in the affected areas.”
Samaritan’s Purse has established multiple disaster relief bases in Florida and North Carolina, where volunteer teams are clearing roads, as well as removing debris, providing essential supplies, and delivering water.
“Helene tore a deadly path through the mountains of western North Carolina, dumping extreme rainfall and causing catastrophic flash flooding. Numerous locations received from 12 to 31 inches of rain between Sept. 25-27. Some towns are in ruins. Toppled trees cover the landscape. Roads and bridges are washed out. Homes and businesses were destroyed by flooding and landslides. Many homes remain without power or running water,” an announcement on the Samaritan’s Purse website said.
“We are bringing generators and other emergency supplies to help communities in the region’s remote mountainous terrain. We are using ground transportation currently, and previously coordinated hundreds of relief flights using our own helicopter and the fixed-wing assets of partnering organizations. We airlifted many tons of food, water, generators, fuel, Starlink systems, heaters, solar lights, and blankets.”
Stories of Humanity After Helene’s Wrath
Nonprofit organizations, state and federal agencies, companies, and individuals are all pitching in to assist those impacted by Hurricane Helene’s devastation. Amid the heartbreaking stories of unbelievable loss, there have been heartwarming tales of human kindness.
For example, former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle used his personal helicopter to deliver food, water, and other essentials to people stranded in hard-to-reach mountainous areas in western North Carolina.
Country music stars Luke Combs and Eric Church organized a Concert for Carolina that raised more than $24.5 million for Hurricane Helene relief efforts. During the event, Church announced that his nonprofit, Chief Cares, would build 100 houses for North Carolina residents whose homes were destroyed by the hurricane.
Among the other groups receiving proceeds from the concert are Manna Food Bank, Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC, and the international relief organization Samaritan’s Purse.
The American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN) also assists in the relief efforts. This network connects humanitarian organizations with transportation, equipment, and warehouse providers to get essential supplies where they are needed. In response to Hurricane Helene, ALAN has helped facilitate relief efforts such as transporting dozens of pallets of medical supplies, solar materials, energy drinks, and crates of semi-electric pallet jacks to North Carolina.
RJ Logistics’ Commitment to Helping Rebuild
RJ Logistics co-founder and President Chris Klaidi Shyti and the Southfield, Michigan-based company are supporting Samaritan’s Purse to assist with Hurricane Helene relief efforts. Our actions are guided by our core values and principles, and so are those of Samaritan’s Purse.
Samaritan’s Purse is a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization established in 1970 to provide assistance to victims of natural disasters, war, poverty, disease, and famine worldwide. Donations to Samaritan’s Purse may be made here.
At RJ Logistics, We Care
At RJ Logistics, our hearts go out to the victims of the devastating 2024 hurricanes. We will continue to do whatever we can to assist with relief efforts and encourage our customers and other logistics companies to do the same. We’re in this together.
We do whatever it takes for our customers. We’re with our customers every step of the way, whether that’s cross-border shipping, expedited services, temperature-controlled logistics, truckload, or oversized freight. RJ Logistics has you covered.
Schedule a call with RJ Logistics today.
