It will be difficult to estimate just how big of an economic toll the near-total loss of rail transport will have on the area. Loss of cheap and fast access to basic, bulky supplies like grain and timber is a reality that modern cities rarely have to face.
For weeks after the storm, people had to boil anything that wasn’t poured from a bottle, and many of them drew from creeks and ponds just to flush their toilets.
All say they plan to stick around to help for as long as it takes the region to recover. And they stress that recovery will come in phases, requiring them to adapt their missions in order to support the community’s evolving needs.
Though much of the River Arts District was destroyed by Tropical Storm Helene, the recent success of RADFest 1.0 has many artists hopeful that the district can bounce back.
“WNC theaters were finally getting close to pre-COVID attendance, and Helene set us all the way back,” says Rose Pillmore, board member of Asheville Theater Alliance
