小优视频

When Hurricanes Helene and Milton hit last year, hearts around the nation went out to Western North Carolina, which endured severe flooding and damage despite being hundreds of miles from the coast. Some cities went months without potable water; thousands of roads and bridges were closed for weeks; entire homes and businesses were swept away 鈥� all at the beginning of the 鈥渓eaf color season,鈥� which the region heavily relies on for tourism revenue.

As district governor-elect of his local Rotary club, Alex 鈥淎lpo鈥� Portelli 鈥�81, a retired military counterintelligence agent and Nebo, North Carolina, resident, became one of the faces of the region鈥檚 recovery efforts. He was made the 鈥渢alking dog鈥� when stations like CNN and The Weather Channel reported from the scene, and he has spent the last year organizing aid to emergency operations, rehousing families and clearing debris.

鈥淚t was pretty rough there for a while, but we鈥檙e getting out of it slowly but surely,鈥� Portelli said recently.

Through the nationwide network of Rotary clubs, many experienced in deadly tropical storms, Portelli and his district received donated materials to aid in the area鈥檚 rehabilitation. In some mountainside towns that were cut off by road from flooding or downed trees, aid had to be airlifted by helicopters or even hauled by mules.

Portelli projects that it will take three to five years for the region to reach 鈥渢otal economic return.鈥� They are currently rebuilding, which will take another one to two years, he said, and while larger cities like Asheville are mostly back in business, there are still 鈥渁 couple of valleys up in our northern counties that look like Day 2.鈥澛�

The construction is made more difficult by the lack of hurricane insurance in the mountains: 鈥淓verything has to be rebuilt from scratch, out of pocket,鈥� he said.

Even though Western North Carolina has endured a great deal of heartache in the last year, Portelli said he and his neighbors also have been deeply moved seeing people come together to help. They鈥檝e even picked up some new skills on the way 鈥� last month Portelli gave a disaster relief workshop with another Rotary district governor in Jacksonville.

Now in the middle of another hurricane season, Portelli and members of his community are armed (literally, with chainsaws) against threats to their recovery timeline.

鈥淣orth Carolinians, we鈥檙e mountain folk, so the resiliency is incredible,鈥� Portelli said.

鈥淎fter the initial 鈥極h, wow,鈥� it鈥檚 like, 鈥極K, we鈥檒l roll up our sleeves, we鈥檒l get going.鈥欌��