BALTIMORE, Md. — Cut off from the rest of the world, flood victims in and around Asheville, North Carolina look skyward for help, and the Maryland Helicopter Aquatic Response Team has flown 17 missions, rescuing 65 people from the area since Saturday, including an infant.
“I’ve seen the devastation,” said Major General Janeen Birckhead of the Maryland National Guard, “The team is sending back footage—-the trees, the ground, the houses actually off their foundation or no longer there, and you think of the team going in and saving a baby or dozens of pets that really mean something to people. So those are the types of stories that I’m hearing and just receiving ‘thank you’s from people I don’t even know.”
The Maryland Army National Guard performed a similar function while deploying to the same state following Hurricane Florence in 2018 and has stepped up its water rescue training on the Chesapeake Bay making it uniquely qualified to perform such rescues.
In addition to that initial rescue team, guard soldiers are also delivering much-needed supplies where they’re needed the most.
“We’re using our aviation assets, Chinooks and the Black Hawk, two teams down there constantly on rotation,” said Birckhead, “Hundreds of gallons of water, pallets of food, getting resources to people that we can’t pull out of areas. These are residential areas so there’s nowhere to land.”
The Chinook helicopters have delivered 39 tons of cargo, food and water to the area while rescuing 20 additional victims as well.
A relatively small group of Marylanders making a huge difference for the people of western North Carolina when help is hard to come by.
“We’re there doing our best for them,” said Birckhead, “We hope that we’re able to save as many lives, get people back up on their feet and running to the extent that we’re able to do that. We’ll be there as long as we need to be there and to support our communities.”
