By Dwight Otwell, Contributing Writer
Clyde – A former Murphy native and pastor is helping coordinate relief efforts in the most devastated areas of western North Carolina from the flooding that occurred from Hurricane Helene in late September and early October 2024.
Nick Smith has been pastor of Lake Junaluska First Baptist Church for eight years. He said all the water in Haywood County originates from the Pigeon River and flows out.
“The force of the water and mud destroyed bodies,” he said. “People’s bodies were hanging from the trees. We had over 500 landslides in western North Carolina. We were still having landslides for two to three days after the rains.”
Clothes and other items were still hanging from trees on the banks of the Pigeon River on Dec. 19. Homes, mostly trailers, were smashed against each other and abandoned.
Relief efforts for the area began the day after the flood, with fire trucks from as far away as New York City and Los Angeles arriving to help with search and rescue. Smith said the Haywood Baptist Association in Waynesville started organizing. Pastors in the area began communicating, and Smith began setting up distribution centers in every town and population center in the region.
“Every church started working and some churches were designated for distribution centers,” Smith said.
Farm equipment, including fencing, has been a big need. Diapers and charcoal are high on the list of needed items. As supplies arrived from churches and citizens wanting to help, Smith and others began directing specific items to areas where it is needed.
A Murphy boy
Smith grew up in Murphy, graduated from Murphy High School and attended Peachtree Memorial Baptist Church. He followed Jesus at age 11 and committed to the ministry at 18.
“In high school, I felt a calling,” Smith said. “I wanted to be in law enforcement but that is not where God wanted me.”
Smith went to Fruitland Baptist College and other schools to complete his education. He earned an associate’s and bachelor’s degrees in religion, a master’s degree in religion, a master of divinity as well as a doctorate of divinity.
Smith started Center Church in Murphy to reach youth. The first service was in the Henn Theater.
Smith became youth pastor of Lake Junaluska First Baptist in 2001, then was associate pastor before leaving for a ministry in Franklin.
Communities wiped out
After hitting Florida, Hurricane Helene delivered torrential rains to communities in western North Carolina on Sept. 27, 2024, through the first few days of October. More than 100 people were killed.
Looting was a real problem in the days after the historic storm, Smith said. Pharmacies were a hot spot for thefts. There were long lines at gas stations. Fights broke out and people were shot in tense situations. Law enforcement helped quell the problems.
Private helicopters brought much needed supplies to the area in the first few days, Smith said. Many search and rescue teams found people and delivered them from dangerous conditions before government workers arrived in the area.
Heidi Pencarinha, a member at Lake Junaluska First Baptist Church who helps coordinate supplies for the various distribution centers, said most distribution centers are not Christian based. They are mountain people helping each other.
With the loss of so many homes, many people lived in tents. There are only two known tents left in Haywood County as more stable shelters have been found, Pencarinha said. Many flood victims live in campers.
“It is taking a long time for people to build back,” she said. “They have to go through the difficult process of getting permits.”
Randy McClure, who is helping with disaster relief, said people who want to rebuild are having to get rid of materials in their homes such as paneling, plaster and sheet-rock.
“The mud just seeped into the walls,” he said. “It doesn’t harden. It has to be removed,” a process called ‘mudding out.’
“I have not seen anyone who said they are mad at God,” Smith said. “People have been more receptive to talking about Christian matters and praying.”
McClure said lodging is most needed today.
“Five churches have set a goal to rebuild 5,000 homes in the next few years,” Smith said. “If it weren’t for mountain people helping mountain people and churches helping, it would have been a lot worse. We couldn’t wait for the federal government. They were so slow.”
Smith is thankful for local volunteers and the donations from so many people in the mountains and across the country. He is also grateful to people from his hometown of Murphy.
“I love Murphy. I miss it,” he said.