Former Buckeye recovering from Helene in North Carolina
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — After a second team left Tuesday, a total of 16 members of the Ohio National Guard are now helping in North Carolina, where extreme flooding from Hurricane Helene has devastated communities.
It's an area Greg McDonald, an Ohio State University graduate, has called home for 11 years. His house is outside of Asheville.
“I had a little loop that I was doing, I did it three times trying to locate gasoline and good cell service, and I saw a lot of the devastation," he said. "There are certain small towns that just got totally washed away. There’s one over near Lake Lure just literally the water came down and wiped the whole town out.”
McDonald said the storm knocked out power, cell service, and water at his home. He spoke with NBC4 after driving more than 60 miles to a friend in South Carolina.
Watch: Former Buckeye recovering from Helene in North Carolina
“On the way, we could see a lot of stuff coming up our way, telephone poles,” he said. “We even saw a helicopter, one of those Chinooks that was flying in to bring food and water to people.”
One of the helicopters helping in North Carolina is from Ohio. Six Ohio National Guard soldiers and a CH47 helicopter arrived Monday. The team has been delivering supplies and rescuing those stranded, according to Brigadier General Matthew Woodruff, assistant adjutant general of the Ohio Army National Guard. He said 10 airmen who will support fatality search and recovery work left Tuesday for North Carolina.
“We don't know the timeline of how long they’ll be there but what I can tell you is we will be there until North Carolina or whatever state we support doesn't need us anymore," he said.
McDonald said he hopes the central Ohio community will consider supporting the western North Carolina community.
“As far as just the Buckeye community, keep us in your prayers," he said. “I hope it gets through the Buckeyes back home that are thinking about us."