Four months after Hurricane Helene ripped through North Carolina, residents are reeling from its effects as if it happened yesterday. As one woman put it, “This happened on September 27 — that’s four months ago. Well, for us today is still September 27.”

Having just been sworn in on Monday, North Carolina was the first place that President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump visited, fulfilling a promise he made to North Carolinians in October that he would return when he’s president. Later that day they also visited southern Californians who continue to be hit hard by wildfires. Trump is showing his concern and empathy for these Americans not just by talking with them, but also listening to them and asking questions.

Inviting them to use his presidential podium to share their stories, most of the residents described how they worked to move their vehicles to the top of the road (on the mountain) to try to keep them dry. One woman said, “We started moving our vehicles to the top of the road and, by the time we got the vehicles moved, the water had already hit our ankles in the house. And so I grabbed my purse and my little pug dog and my husband grabbed the dog food and put it in a trash bag. . .By the time we got out into the driveway, it was already waist deep and there were sticks and that kind of thing.”

A younger man holding his toddler daughter explained, “When the hurricane storms hit … our home, my daughter and my wife and I were actually out of town, but unfortunately, my dad was still at home and my mother was staying at our house with our animals. And the water got so high that it actually lifted — between that and the tornado that came through … and lifted his home and the house that I grew up in and crashed it into our barn. It took away his business. It took away all of his tools and tractors and everything needed to keep the farm going, and my mother was trapped in the house and there was no way to escape because the water got so high. The only thing she could do was ride it out and wait till the waters came down.”

He continued, “So we’ve been doing a little bit of battling with our insurance and FEMA. We did have proper insurance with flood insurance and homeowner’s insurance. But since we had proper insurance, FEMA has not been able to assist us with a whole lot of things. And again, we’ve been having some issues with trying to get some payout for our insurance in a timely manner. We had to do mold mitigation on our home, which is extremely expensive before the structural engineer even came out in order to get our flood payout. And to me, that was not really acceptable.”

President Trump then asked how his insurance company has been and asked for more specifics. He asked questions throughout the conference (as well as before and after) so that he can find out specifically how the federal government can assist residents, charity organizations such as Samaritan’s Purse, as well as the state and local governments.

Another man described his experience saying, “Like most everybody else, we moved five vehicles this far up, lawnmowers and everything else and the water started coming in the house. And when it got up to about ankle high, we have a loft, I got her up in that and tried to gather what you might want, which was totally random. And when it made it to the loft and started getting up to about her hips, I built a little makeshift ladder, and we got out on our roof and we spent four hours on the roof. I had a little baggie. I did notes on my cell phone to my two kids and my two grandkids and something to identify me in case we were lost in it.”

Trump responded, “Did you think you were going to make it?”

“No … we didn’t think we could make it at all. I mean our house is 25 feet underwater.”

“So you didn’t think you were going to live?”

“No. We were watching houses, trailers, bodies coming by us. We watched our garage float by. We got to a point where it crested about four feet up on the roof. We took about three or four hours so we could kind of do everything in reverse. And got out in the mud to higher ground. And I got out to higher ground up to a Subway and got over to her daughter’s house. … When she saw that I didn’t have her, she lost it. And I was like, ‘She’s okay, she’s alive.’ And we tried to make our way back in there and gather things [as] best we could. But, you know, we found a body right away. There was about eight bodies in our area that first two weeks … and we were lucky we weren’t one of them, and blessed.”

He went on to explain that, like many people, they didn’t have flood insurance, and FEMA has not done much. But Samaritan’s Purse is working with them to either fix their house or build a new one on the land that has been in their family for 80 years. He feels like the country has forgotten about them, but President Trump assured them we have not and said, “We’re here to take care of you.”

Next, a local pastor explained how her small congregation had just purchased a large church building and dedicated it a week before Hurricane Helene hit. People had asked, “What are you going to do with this big building?” And she responded, “Only God knows.”

God responded by enabling them to house good Samaritans from across the country who came to love and serve the hurricane victims. “My son brought the first load of supplies, and I stayed there for about three months. I slept on the floor for about three weeks because the need was so great. The people were so devastated, and I said, ‘I want to be here for them.’ And they were coming in just day and night, so there’s really no need for me to go home. But we had people from Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, Indiana, Oklahoma, people from all over. We have not received any help from the government or anything.”

She continued, “The locals and the people that knew us [helped us]. And before the week was over, our church was so packed with supplies, we couldn’t even walk. Even in our sanctuary, it was up to the platform and in our halls and in our rooms, and we’re just now beginning to get a little straightened out. But somebody said, ‘How long are you going to be here?’ I said, ‘I’m going to be here through the winter and even on if possible.’”

“It’s not the big things in life that we have, but it’s the little things,” she added. “And knowing that God is our source. I don’t look to man, I don’t have to have a lot of things. And God is good.”

President Trump replied, “He’s very good.”

The pastor responded, “He’s very good. And my daughter, now her house is really in bad shape. And I’ll let her tell you about that. But thank you, President. This is our president. And we appreciate you so much.”

The pastor’s daughter then described her heartbreaking experience: “I live out in the Fairview area of North Carolina and near the Bat Cave Lake Lure area. And our area was hit. It was hit really hard. I was home alone. And my husband had stayed in town because we take care of a little lady that’s 98 years old and she lives out in the woods by herself. And I said, ‘Just stay with her and make sure that she’s okay.’”

She continued, “And I got up the next morning and my first thought was, ‘I want to go see what our road and bridge looks like.’ So as I was making it down to the road and the bridge, there was no road and bridge. And so, you know, here we are — we’re like a little island. We can’t access the main road or anything.”

“And then the fire department came by the next day and said that they were evacuating me and my neighbor, because a landslide was going to come,” she went on. “And they told me to get my stuff and get ready. And so while I was getting my stuff and getting ready, there was a knock at the door, so I thought it was the firemen. And I went to the door and there stood my 21-year-old son. His name is Nathan. And he had drove as far as he could to get to me, but he hiked five miles. And it took him a really long time and he got there. And he said, ‘Mom, grab a bag, we got to go.’ And I said, ‘Son, there’s no way I can hike out of here.’ And he was like, ‘No, we got to go.’ So we started hiking out and I seen one of my neighbors who she had no clothes on. Her skin was like chunked up. She was blue. She had been in the waters, and where she had went I don’t know, but it was horrific is just all I can say.”

She commented further:

“But then as me and my son hiked on out, we went through … Craig Town, but there were like a lot of family members there that passed away — like 11 of them. And there were people out everywhere looking for their loved ones and there were dead bodies, you know. My son’s like, ‘Mom, you’re going to see things you don’t want to see.’ And so anyway we got through all that. But I stayed at our church in our sound booth. My husband and I, we just slept up in the sound booth for a couple of months because we didn’t have power or anything for about two months out there.

“And then we went back. I’ve been fighting with FEMA since day one. Our community, there’s like 32 homes. We don’t have a road and a bridge. We’re driving through our neighbor’s property. You know, I went to EMS. And I said, ‘Look, my concern is if we have a fire or we have an emergency out here, you’re not going to get to us. You can’t get those big trucks up here.’

“And I’ve called and called and called FEMA. And you know, I said, ‘This happened on September 27th. That’s four months ago. Well for us today is still September 27th. You know, we haven’t had help.’ And so, when I talk to FEMA, I’m explaining the road and the bridge. And they send me a letter that tells me to basically fix it and send in my receipts and they’ll refund me some money.

“I’m looking at a road and bridge that honestly the bridge itself is probably going to be $300,000 and the road could be close to that also. Because the community has to have big boulders brought in. We’re not a rich community. We can’t fix it ourselves. And as far as like house repairs, I’m still pending.

“I can’t get money from FEMA until I fix the road and bridge and send in my proof that it’s fixed and everything. It’s just been a nightmare. And I totally feel like we have been forgotten. If it had not been for our fellow American citizens who stepped up to help us, I don’t know what we would have done.

“I have five neighbors around me who completely lost everything. You know, I have damage to my house and I don’t feel entitled. I’m embarrassed to even say I need help. … And sometimes there’s even that survivor’s guilt is what they’re calling it, but you feel guilty to even be alive sometimes.

“You know, when you look around and you see your neighbors that are gone … We need help. I wrote a letter to send to Congress. ‘I don’t understand what’s going on. If we can’t get FEMA help, then will you guys help us? Will you step up and be our fellow citizen? Will you step up and be our neighbor and send us something?’”

There is no doubt that President Trump’s visit, the plans that he described, and his conversations with these people have given them hope again — knowing that they are a top priority and have not been forgotten. As Rev. Franklin Graham said, “This isn’t a politician coming down here looking for votes, this is a man who wants to do something, who wants to see some changes, who wants to make life better for you.”

President Trump announced that he is putting Republican National Committee Chairman and North Carolinian Michael Whatley in charge of helping these Hurricane Helene victims. He said, “We’ve made a lot of progress over the last couple of days. Michael, I understand we’re going to get you the resources you need and the support that you deserve, and we’ll be at your side through every step of the rebuilding.”

Trump continued:

“They told me just yesterday that Samaritan’s Purse has been great, but the FEMA people sort of left you high and dry. … But our government failed the people of North Carolina in this horrible crisis. For two months, Asheville lacked running water, and even today some North Carolinians can’t take a hot water shower, they can’t drink water. They don’t know where to get it.

“It’s been four months since the storm made landfall, and still 180 roads remain closed and in ruins. Earlier this month, the Biden administration kicked 2,000 displaced North Carolinians out of their temporary housing into freezing 20-degree weather. I don’t know how they did that one because it was cold — even while your government provided shelter and housing for illegal aliens from all over the world. But under the Trump administration, the days of betrayal and neglect are over. They are over. As I said in my inaugural address, we restore the integrity, competency, and loyalty of the American government.

“And I think I said most of it in the inaugural address. … [O]ne of the groups of people I was thinking about is you in North Carolina, a lot of that was in reference to you and what you’ve had to suffer. I’m pleased to announce that under our leadership, the federal government will be surging housing solutions to the state that go beyond mere temporary hotel stays that ended up being very short term.

“The government wouldn’t do it any longer, which is ridiculous. We will marshal all available resources to bring back potable water and make your water and infrastructure dramatically more reliable very quickly. Today, I’ll also be signing an executive order, slashing all red tape and bureaucratic barriers and permits to ensure the rapid reconstruction of the roads here in western North Carolina.

“We’re going to go through a permitting process that’s called no permitting, just get it done. That’s the way they built them many years ago. I guarantee you that, right? We will get them back very quickly and we’ll begin the work of fundamentally changing, terminating, or overhauling FEMA.”