10/05/2024
Sharing this update from a midwife in North Carolina, I think it is more enlightening than any news I have seen!
October 3, 2024
I am a CPM living in Hendersonville, NC, a bedroom community of Asheville, NC. I was the Executive Director of the former WNC Birth Center. Those of you who want to keep up with the visuals and day to day challenges and the love and kindness of the community can go to
my page- nancylivingstonkoerber
Hi Sister Midwives and Birth Centers;
Brianna just asked me to
post on here. Things have been such a whirlwind that it is hard to even stop to think. It was a week ago tonite that the apocalypse hit our mountain region and changed our life for years to come.
The reason why we are silent is because people are just finding a way to basic survival. Those who have been through societal storms know this phase. People are shellshocked and focused within. there are no words to describe this and visuals don't capture the enormity of challenges and vastness of the area affected in very serious and life threatening ways still.
From Boone, NC, through all the western counties of Watauga, home of Appalachian State University and birthplace of Doc Watson, to The High Country, Mt Mitchell, Grandfather Mountain, Spruce Pine, Burnsville thru the Piedmont of Morganton, Marion, Old Fort, to the Central Mountains of Buncombe County-Black Mountain, Asheville, Henderson County, Henderson, Saluda, Transylvania County-Brevard, Rosman, Haywood County-Waynesville, Jackson County, Sylva and Western Carolina University, The South Carolina border towns of Tryon, and Rutherfordton.
I list all of these because of the focus on Asheville. Asheville has been decimated. The river crested at over 31 ft. Downtown Biltmore Village. There are two rivers that flow into Asheville. Both flooded at record highs taking out a lot of major infrastructure in Buncombe County. The rivers tore houses off their foundations with people in them, along with vehicles large and small. as one could expect the warehouses, stores, industrial facilities flooded or broken apart. The whole water system for the county has been decimated and so there is no water in the area. Mission Hospital is the primary hospital in the area, Level 3 NICU has no water or power. Some electricity has been pieced together but they announced yesterday that all pregnant women in the region 37 weeks and beyond should plan to birth elsewhere. There are two hospitals 30-40 minutes south of Asheville that are doing deliveries.
The only birth center in the western region is Lilac Health-Asheville Birth and Wellness Center. They have no power or water and cannot do births there right now. For those who can travel east, Natural Beginnings in Statesville, Marcia Ensminger and Nicole Winecoff have graciously accepted the transfers. However, the infrastructure of the roads has collapsed and the ability to get passage out of the different areas is limited to impossible as many communities, (emphasis on many) are literally cut off from the world right now.
There are 4 ways in and out of Asheville and until yesterday 3 major highways North, West, East were all closed. The smaller highways were flooded, partially washed away, littered with downed or hanging trees, accompanied with tangled hanging broken power lines and burnt transformers and poles everywhere. In some places jagged sticks are standing in the middle of the street holding up some wires off the ground. Travel means that you weave your car between the maze of trees and power lines, meandering this road until you face the obstacle mentioned above. Some roads are gone completely and major highways into and out of TN were littered with landslides and road instability so grave that they will be closed for 6 mos to a year. What used to be an hour drive turned into to 3 hrs or traveling vast distances to circle around it. Today they repaired the I-40 E corridor out of Asheville that had suffered a large landslide and so yeah...we can get out.
Cell service has been nonexistent in most of the region and in some areas the equivalent of the dial ups in the 90s in speed. People have gone all these days wondering about loved ones. There is the lingering knowledge of the severity of life lost every day. Most people have not seen the news, rumors are rampant, and many are now homeless. There are too many areas where the little towns have washed away. They are gone, completely.
The Blue Ridge Mountains are ancient, sacred, and covered with dense forests of a combination of both northern and southern foliage. They are filled with rivers, streams, and creeks. This is the Land of Waterfalls. This is the Land of the Cherokee. This is the home of Bluegrass, of Indie, and a mix of genres. This is the land of the mountain folk, the Bible Belt, the Witches, The Drum Circles, the Preppers, Buskers and Street Theatre. The mountains are filled with kayakers, hikers, rock climbers, mountain bikers, campers, leaf peepers and tourist. Our houses are in the trees, nestled on cliffs, bungalows, up on top of mountaintops off grid, tiny homes, self built, no zoning combinations, trailers, apartments, redlined areas, mansions or McMansions with the biggest The Biltmore Estate. There are unhoused, under resourced, self sufficient, skilled, artisans, craftspersons and every mix of you and me. Asheville is hardworking and proud. Many people have lived off grid in one way or another have skills and to live.
The people in the High Country have no way to get down the mountains to get to Asheville to deliver and the people west of Asheville where the roads are out don't either, but they do have a delivering hospital there. There is a huge need!
Home births are going on but the infrastructure affects that too. Also some malpractice plans don't include home deliveries for CNMs and of course NC remains one of the most antiquated and punitive states for CPMs.
From the beginning HELP came from everywhere. First ourselves and still today it is a large contingent of us providing every service any one can think of. Every single church has set up distribution centers. Anyone who has anything at their business or in heir homes is giving. Lots of business are giving stuff away or letting people fill up water.
It is a huge nonstop effort all day every day. All ages are out there and what has been so wonderful is the kindness to others emanating at just about every interaction. It is healing. People are traumatized. Hearts are raw.
Help also has come in from every corner bringing living necessities. Government was here from all levels from the beginning. Federal, state, local. The FEMA Director has been stationed here for the duration. From C-17s to Blackhawks to the military of National Guard and Active Duty, they are fully resourced and helping.
The skies are filled with planes of all sizes and helicopters delivering supplies, performing rescue operations everywhere all day long. They are landing in remote mountainous areas at fire stations and homes even, delivering supplies. Some are doing airdrops. Some are dual use for supplies and rescues. There are many, many people still stuck on the mountains, desperate, some having gone through a flood and a landslide all at once trapped with medical conditions, require oxygen or insulin or home health care. Serious, dire situations. The National Guard has cut new roads where the previous ones were washed away up sides of mountains. Teams of ATV's are climbing mountains looking for people. Well-checks are being done and the organization and efficiency of these gets better every day. There are cardboard signs on trees giving info. There is a mule team carrying in supplies to a town just outside of Asheville on roads washed out with chunks of broken asphalt everywhere making hiking difficult. The RNs from Catawba County are riding horseback up trails of closed off communities up the mountains near Boone delivering insulin and other meds, doing well checks on missing residents and offering primary care. There is a Period Pantry in Asheville stocked with cycle supplies and anyone who needs something can get it.
World Central Kitchen came in early and set up a kitchen along with helicopters that fly supplies, food and people for small kitchens in those communities. And yet you know that when World Central Kitchen comes to your town, well, things are BAD.
The heroes are the first responders, fire and rescue, law enforcement. Two deputies in separate counties were lost in the floodwaters. The linemen people, the telecommunications systems folks. the arborists, tree cutters-all doing amazingly dangerous work. The Subtle Warriors-those adding grocery store items up by hand with no power and counting money with lines and lines of people waiting. Almost every grocery store was closed for days. None had power or no telecommunication to accept credit or debit. The banks were closed due to power and no atms worked. Very few gas stations and lines 3-4 hrs long. The workers were organized, compassionate and patient.
We cry when we see the convoys of power trucks in long lines. They all have done an amazing job. We are grateful, thankful, and hopeful.
What can you do? Watch my page. Pray if you are a praying person and send us light and energy. Those experienced in trauma, encourage us. We will be organizing more. PROGRESS and PATIENCE is our motto. It is truly amazing, catastrophic and life altering.
Good night. 💜🙏 Excuse typos. it is hard to type.
