VILAS, N.C. (AP) — In Vilas, a small rural town tucked into the Blue Ridge Mountains, Brad Farrington stopped his car and picked up a case of water bottles being distributed. He is on his way to help a friend who has lost many of his possessions. hurricane helen I ran through last weekend.
Mr. Farrington’s friend, like countless others in western North Carolina, is trying to start his life over. That explains why Farrington isn’t thinking much about politics or the race for the White House between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris right now.
“I don’t think the people have any hope for either of the elected officials,” he said.
Farrington paused and gestured toward more than a dozen volunteers who were loading water and other supplies into cars and trucks.
“I believe we are finding more hope in these people,” he said.
In the final weeks of the campaign, people in the influential battleground states of North Carolina and Georgia are dealing with more pressing concerns. Widespread storm damage. If that’s not enough, voters in Watauga County, a battleground district in the Appalachians that has turned Democratic in recent years, must contend with issues such as: Politicians express support while pinning responsibility They are campaigning in a race that could be decided by the slightest change.
Large uprooted trees litter the sides of roads and sometimes block driveways. Some homes in Vilas are no longer accessible due to collapsed bridges and collapsed roads. like a populated area BooneMajor flooding occurred at the home of Appalachian State University.
Residents wonder where it is missing friends and relatives, Do you have it? enough food and water to stay alive Until new supplies arrive and how they will be rebuilt.
The focus is on survival, not politics, and the situation could last for weeks.
Politicians visit affected battleground states
Trump and Harris Visit North Carolina and Georgia This is the fifth time since the storm hit. President Trump was visiting North Carolina on Friday. Harris was there the next day..
After President Trump’s visit to Valdosta, Georgia, on Monday, 20-year-old Fermin Herrera said former President Trump’s show of compassion earned him votes over President Joe Biden and Vice President Harris. He said it was not because he was dissatisfied with the response. of federal disaster response. Herrera was already leaning toward voting for Trump.
“I think they’re all kind people doing what they can,” he said. “All local residents are grateful for the ongoing assistance.”
President Trump is Various records related to response to natural disastersattacked Biden and Harris for their slow response to Helen’s destruction. President Trump accused Democrats of “not going out of their way to help people in Republican areas,” saying: The Federal Emergency Management Agency was underfunded. Because it was used for illegal immigration. There is no evidence to support either claim.
After his meeting with the governor, President Trump emphasized, “I’m not thinking about the voters right now.” brian kempR-Ga, Friday. “I’m thinking about life.”
Biden strongly objected, saying he was “committed to being president for all Americans” and did not order that aid be distributed based on partisanship. The White House cited statements from Republican governors in Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee who expressed satisfaction with the federal government’s response.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told ABC’s “This Week” that this false and “really dangerous narrative” is “demoralizing” first responders and creating “fear among our employees.” he said.
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Gavin Smith, a professor at North Carolina State University who specializes in disaster recovery, said criticism of aid efforts in the aftermath of a natural disaster is “inappropriate,” especially given the difficult logistics problems in western North Carolina. He said dangerous terrain with damaged roads and bridges, as well as widespread lack of electricity and mobile phone service, made disaster response particularly difficult in the region.
Democratic Party Governor roy cooper has made several stops in western North Carolina, including Watauga County and surrounding areas, and Biden inspected the extensive damage during an aerial tour.
Focus on recovery and rebuilding
In Watauga County, Jessica Dixon shoveled dirt and broken furniture from the ground and dumped it into the bucket of a noisy excavator. The 29-year-old was standing in the house she bought two years ago. It is now completely destroyed, after Dixon, her boyfriend and their two dogs were evacuated to safety due to rising waters.
Without flood insurance, Dixon doesn’t know what will happen next month. She said she filled out the FEMA application but hasn’t checked her email since. She had been thinking a bit about the presidential election before Helen, but now she’s preoccupied with cleaning the house.
“It doesn’t change my opinion in any way,” said Dixon, who had planned to vote for Harris.
For 47-year-old Bobby Cordell, the presidential election isn’t a top priority either. He’s trying to reach out to his neighbors in western Watauga County for help, where access is difficult in some areas.
His home near Beech Mountain was one of those places after the bridge was washed away. Cordell rescued his aunt from the mudslide and then traveled to Boone, where she is staying at the Appalachian Holmes Muster Center, now a Red Cross emergency shelter.
He is in contact with officials such as FEMA to send disaster relief supplies to where he lives. The conversation “went very well,” he said.
Accepting help is not easy for mountain people, he says, because they are used to taking care of themselves.
But now those trapped “need everything they can get.”
Helping neighbors becomes more important in Helen’s aftermath
Over the past week while volunteering at Skate World, where Farrington stopped for water, Nancy Crawford found it hard to laugh. Although she has helped serve more than 1,000 people, she said the mental strain is starting to take hold on “many of us who are usually tough.”
That burden added to the weight she already felt about the election, which she said was “inherently scary.” Crawford, who is a registered Republican, said she plans to vote for Harris. As a Latina of Mexican descent, she believes President Trump’s immigration policies will negatively impact her community.
She said the storm won’t change her vote, but one thing has become clear.
“It doesn’t matter what political party you are, we all need help,” she said.
Jan Welborn had similar thoughts as she walked around the Watauga High School gym gathering supplies to give to colleagues in need. The 69-year-old bus driver for the school district said the outpouring of support from the community has been a “godsend.”
She finds solace in the county’s ability to come together. Elections are important, she said, but helping people get through tough times is even more important.
“Elections should matter,” Welborn said. “But right now we need to focus on taking care of everyone in our county.”
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Associated Press writer Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.
