—Emergency— Flood Update

On September 27, 2024, hurricane Helene brought nearly 30" of rain and high winds to Western North Carolina, and eastern TN causing catastrophic damage. Asheville, Swannanoa, Black Mountain, Montreat, Old Fort, Chimney Rock and Marshall were among many mountain communities most affected. Those living at higher elevations became totally isolated due to downed trees, power lines and/or road/bridge washouts. Those living near any water, whether a small stream, lake or river endured catastrophic damage from flooding, rushing waters, and debris.  The entire region has been without power, water, and internet due to many downed trees and power lines. Restoration has been slow due to the loss of roads/bridges, and also catastrophic damage done to water and sewer infrastructure.

The CFK office, located near what is usually a small creek that feeds into the Swannanoa River well downstream of us, hugely overran its banks with catastrophic flash flooding that tore our office building off its foundation and swept it across the road where it lodged between the steel handicap railing of a neighboring building and 2 trees that remained rooted in the ground.  The building also flooded.  Four other buildings in the neighborhood were also swept off their foundations, and several other buildings were flooded. The waters quickly receded, and we have been working hard to salvage what we could from our office and also help our neighbors. Gratefully, the warehouse that we built in 2012 was built well above the 100-year flood plain and survived this flood without any damage.

We had water filter buckets and solar lights stored in our warehouse, and we have distributed these to the community. They have proven invaluable to all of us during this time of prolonged disruption of basic services. Cell coverage is still very spotty, and internet and water service are only now beginning to be restored.

We hope to set up a temporary office as soon as possible while we determine next steps. We did have flood insurance. However, it will take time to determine what it will cover.  Should you wish to help CFK through this disaster, please visit our Donate site, or you can mail a contribution to PO Box 936, Black Mountain, NC 28711.  

We are very grateful for your prayers and the many offers of help and supplies that are starting to come to the region. We are also grateful for the hard work of town employees working around the clock to restore services. Thank you for your prayers - we need them! There are many tragic stories of great loss – and many are still missing. There are also stories of hope, grace and the coming together of this community. We empathize with the great losses of many North Koreans in the aftermath of their own catastrophic floods in July.

The CFK phone and fax lines are currently non-functioning. If you need to reach us, please call/text either Heidi Linton's cell phone (828-582-3346) or Terry Smith's cell phone (828-279-9853). Please be patient as cell and internet coverage is still very spotty. We are still very much in clean-up and recovery mode, so our usual activities may also be delayed or suspended until we have a functioning office. Thank you in advance for your understanding and patience. We will provide periodic updates on our website and Facebook as we make progress towards recovery.

We are grateful for offers of volunteer help. However, the scale of the damage means that it will take time for the community to recover. Hotels, restaurants and other services remain closed or in emergency mode. We will update this as the situation changes.

Thank you for your prayers and continued support.

Welcome