Supply Needs and Donations:
If you are coordinating donations that you will transport or that will be sent west, please make sure your efforts are going to a distribution center or group that will actually get the supplies to those in need. Collections centers are becoming inundated with supplies that are disorganized and are just showing up. This delays delivery to those in need.
Those of us wanting to help can quickly over run the amount of folks there trying to track, fill requests and serve those in need.
Many churches and community based organizations are also collecting donations for distribution in their communities.
Only donate to people or groups you trust and don't be afraid to ask specifically where the donations are going.
Please don't clean out your yard sale collection and just drop it off at a donation site. Separate clothes by size and use.
There've been pallets upon pallets of bottled water delivered to the impacted areas. Please consider donating other items than cases of bottled water.
Until the supply backups can be cleared, we urge everyone to consider donating money, your time or both to the recovery efforts.
Visit NCVOAD.org to learn more about how you can help those impacted.

Misinformation:
Social media can appear to be a great source for information but it is also a great way for bad people in society to spread lies and bad information.
We've had several emergency response personnel from throughout our county and region deployed into the impacted areas since the Sunday following the storm. They've witnessed first hand that local (city/county fire, LE, EMS), state (NCEM, NCDOT, NCOSFM, NCDOI, Fire, EMS, LE and USAR) as well as federal (FEMA, Federal USAR Teams, etc...) are on the ground and working to find people, distribute supplies, shore up infrastructure, clear roads and begin the processes of rebuilding the lives that weren't lost.
This is a large impacted area that's affecting thousands of people in a difficult terrain that's been compromised by the storm. No doubt that some incidents of confusion or delays in getting aid have occurred but that's not an indication that nothing is being done.
Usually, local resources are expected to be able to handle the first 72 hours following an event like this and usually, they can. This combination of a low pressure followed closely by a tropical storm caused flooding and mudslides that surpassed those of the Great Floods of 1916. It's hard to prepare for something that's never been seen in the last 100 years so this event has and will continue to teach us better ways to respond to and manage disasters.
Please don't spread negatively inflamed or provocative information about the impacts of the storm nor the relief efforts that are underway. Doing so does no good for the people we are all trying to help. It also takes a toll on the responders in the area doing their best to make things better.
For reliable information, visit https://www.ncdps.gov/our-organization/emergency-management/hurricane-helene.