Airing Tuesday, September 30th at 9 pm
Hurricane Helene came into North Carolina on Sept. 27, 2024 — changing the lives and landscape of western North Carolina. Water records were broken, rivers changed course, and many people were at a loss — without words to describe what had just happened, but not at a loss for what to do.
Neighbors were cutting trees for each other, liberating driveways and roads. Friends hiked through freshly broken forests to set eyes on their loved ones. People shared finite resources as if they were unlimited. It was overwhelming to see, and still to think about.
These neighbors and friends are also some of our first responders and essential workers — those who are trained to answer your calls for help.
In October of 2024, Dr. John Gossett, president of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, said, “Think about who went running. It was our law enforcement, EMTs, fire, rescue, all these people we have trained — they were the ones who ran immediately into the storm.”
It was Gossett’s words that stuck with Caroline Parker of EducationNC and inspired the title of a podcast series, Running Towards Disaster. On Tuesday, September 30th, WNCW will air a one-hour documentary compiled from the 6-episode series. You will hear from residents of North Carolina, who are public servants, trained to serve and save, and have been educated at a community college.
This radio documentary brings first-person perspectives of those who lived through and helped in the aftermath of Helene.
Caroline Parker is the director of rural storytelling and strategy for EducationNC. She covers the stories of rural North Carolina, the arts, STEM education, and nutrition.
You can find the complete podcast series here.