By Anna Grace Moore
Photos by Kelsea Schafer & Contributed

The only thing more powerful than desperation is hope. Thanks to three Hoover High School sophomores, Logan and William Morrow, along with Pierce Read, a survivor of Tropical Storm Helene in North Carolina is feeling hope for the first time after a hard time.

According to the nesdis.noaa.gov, Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane outside of Perry, Florida, on Sept. 26, 2024. The storm’s windspeeds reached 140 miles per hour, making this one of the most powerful storms to touch down in the United States.

Traversing through Georgia, Helene downgraded to a Category 2 hurricane, and upon entering the Appalachian Mountains became a tropical storm with no less devastating rainfalls. On Friday, Sept. 27, the storm struck North Carolina, setting a record of 30 inches of rain throughout the state, flooding numerous bodies of water, causing mudslides and washing away entire settlements.

On osbm.nc.gov/hurricane-helene-dna/open, the North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management (NCOSBM) and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper reported its revised assessment of the storm’s damage on Dec. 13, 2024, stating Helene is considered one of the deadliest storms in the U.S. Death tolls have now risen past 100 in the state alone.

The assessment also reports that FEMA was designated to provide 39 counties with federal disaster assistance. Of those counties, it is estimated that 4.6 million people, who make up 40 percent of North Carolina’s population, live in those areas.

Not only did Helene leave tens of thousands of residents without power, running water or accessible roadways, but the storm also left a severe financial impact. The NCOSBM assessment states that as of Friday, Dec. 13, damage estimates reached $59.6 billion.

Nearly 450 miles away, Logan, William and Pierce felt called to serve those affected.

“Our original intent was just to go find somebody to help,” Logan says.

Having grown up together in church and school, Logan, William and Pierce share a special bond. The three thrill seekers love anything outdoors–hiking, fishing, kayaking or even whitewater rafting.

During their fall break, they planned to take a kayaking trip down the Nantahala River in North Carolina. When Helene caused them to shift gears, they realized just how badly so many good people needed help.

Logan and William’s father, Andrew Morrow, originally called his friend to check on him as he lived in one of the worst affected areas. After learning his friend’s house had been severely impacted, Andrew started making arrangements to turn their fall break into a building restoration project.

“We were able to raise $3,500 for materials,” William says. “We started filling up our trailer, and we left on Thursday, Oct. 10. We came back on Monday, the 14th.”

The Morrows are no stranger to a little elbow grease. Andrew, who is a Samford University graduate, founded his construction company UrbanScapes, LLC in 2001. He received degrees in biology and geographic information systems and capitalized on his dream to mesh science with his love of nature, design and architecture.

The brainchild of his hard work, UrbanScapes has built or restored many residential and commercial spaces in Alabama from gardens in Mountain Brook to lofts on 1st Avenue North to a former 1914 Masonic Lodge in Birmingham. William says he and Logan have been shadowing Andrew on jobs, learning the trade since they were in the third grade.

Pierce, on the other hand, says this experience was all new to him.

“I hadn’t ever done anything like this. I thought, ‘Oh yeah, we’ll knock this out today! This is easy stuff,’” he says, chuckling.

A week before the trip, they realized their family friend had received assistance, but there were still so many others who had not. After enlisting the help of a family friend, Christian Drake, the Hoover heroes set off on a 12-hour-long venture, hauling a trailer full of building supplies up to North Carolina.

“No one would ever have thought there was going to be a flood up there,” Logan says, later adding, “we saw this tiny, little creek. You would never think it could get that full. It was probably four or five feet of water. It just pulled whole RVs, houses, trees and piled it all up against bridges.”

The team instead partnered with another friend, Aaron Miller, and Gideon Rescue Company, where they were connected with Linda, a 78-year-old woman who had lost nearly everything in the floods. A Creston resident, Linda’s 100-year-old farmhouse had been in her family for generations.

Then after only a day, it sat sagging, sliding off its foundation and nearly collapsing from the 14 inches of standing water flooding the home.

“In the middle of [the storm], she had her own horse and another horse that were just staying there in her barn,” Logan says. “When the water was waist high, she went out there as it was storming and pulled the horses out of the barn and walked them up the road to higher ground.”

Pierce agrees that Linda’s strength was quite formidable. While the team worked to restore her home, she drove her tractor around, picking up fallen tree limbs and clearing paths.

Linda’s sons, Tim and Anthony, who are both U.S. Air Force veterans, were a big part of the restoration efforts.

“They did just as many hours as we did,” William says. “They helped out the whole time, and they kept going once we left.”

To start the restoration project, volunteers began by tearing out all of the old supports and leveling out the crawl space. They also cleared away the debris and all of the house’s rotten wood.

The boys even helped jack up the house about six inches in the living room and about eight inches in the master bedroom to level out the foundation. Adding floor supports, the team finished the foundation and flooring by the time they had to head home.

Pierce says he suffered a sports injury prior to the trip and was unable to do any heavy lifting; yet, he still wanted to be useful. He was put in charge of mixing mortar, which involves pouring substances in a wheelbarrow with water, churning the concoction until its desired consistency.

Laughing, he says while he may have been limited, he felt proud to have played a part in such a vital project. Even though they spent close to 10 or 12 hours a day working, the boys still found enjoyment in the little details along the way.

They bathed in a nearby creek each day and slept in a pasture underneath the stars each night.

“There was no light pollution, so I could just see every single star,” Logan says, smiling.

While their trip was quite memorable, they all say their favorite part was helping make a difference in Linda’s life. Linda drove 45 minutes one way to the nearest, functioning fast food restaurant and brought back a hot meal for all of the volunteers.

She wept as she brought them food, feeling astonished yet grateful that five strangers from 400 miles away had come to help rebuild her home.

According to Logan, William and Pierce, a little elbow grease goes a long way in renewing hope for those who need it most. While not everyone can do the things they did, each person, they believe, will have opportunities in their own lives to be the hands and feet of Jesus.

After all, the greatest change is ignited when two or more are rallied around one cause.

To learn more about Tropical Storm Helene and how to help survivors in North Carolina, visit fema.gov/disaster/4827.  

Tropical Storm Helene Survivor Support Fund

Organized by Andrew Morrow, a GoFundMe has been created to fundraise for Linda’s housing restoration project. Patrons can visit gofundme.com/f/support-mrs-lindas-hurricane-recovery to learn more about Linda’s story and donate as they are able.