voornaam, I'm in Raleigh. I just talked to Ben Mack with the South Carolina Chapter. We're hearing stories and seeing photos from people across the Carolinas in the path of Hurricane Florence. Its impacts are devastating: In New Bern, North Carolina, more than 300 people have been rescued and hundreds are still stranded after 10 foot-plus storm surges. In the Pee Dee region of South Carolina, they are now anticipating catastrophic flooding as the storm turns and slows. At least seven people have lost their lives. Fear and concern are sweeping across all of us as this storm strikes our communities. It isn't over, and it won't be over when the rain stops and wind dies down. They're saying that, by the time the Florence passes through, there will be forty -- yes, forty -- inches of rain and billions of dollars in damages, but neither tell the full extent of the damage done by this storm. More than 1 million people were ordered to evacuate. Others who may have lacked money for gasoline or hotels stayed behind to face whatever comes. There's no time to waste, voornaam. With more than 200 emergency shelters in operation and as many as 3 million homes predicted to lose power for a week or more, we must provide local relief and support these communities' recovery effort -- now. We're raising money for local organizations working on the ground -- such as North Carolina Community Foundation Disaster Relief Fund, North Carolina Environmental Justice Network, and Charleston Community Research to Action Board -- to rush support to those devastated by Florence's wrath. Please help with an emergency gift of $5 or whatever you can give now. Please, make an emergency gift to the Sierra Club's Hurricane Florence relief efforts. 100% of the funds you donate will go directly to recovery efforts and to non-profits serving the communities affected most by this devastating storm. Florence is being called a "beast" with good reason: the storm crept along literally at a walking pace (2-3mph), resulting in more hours of hurricane-force winds. Its winds and surges extended a full 80 miles from its center, cutting a jagged path of freshwater flooding and destruction through areas whose populations have grown by 25% since Hurricane Hugo nearly three decades ago. We've been through enough of these calamitous storms to know what lies ahead: Food, water, and fuel shortages. Compromised medical care. Low-income communities and communities of color bearing the brunt of the suffering and loss. And untold damage to the hearts and minds of all those who suffered from the storm. Please contribute whatever you can give now -- 100% of the funds you donate will go directly to recovery efforts and to non-profits serving the communities affected most by this devastating storm. Thank you for your support. It will help folks here who are truly suffering. And for everyone in the storm's path, we are thinking of you and hope you and your loved ones are safe. Sincerely, Molly Diggins
Director, North Carolina Chapter
Sierra Club Photo: Laura Overman, New Bern, North Carolina. | 
