Written by: 4/C Thomas Richardson

Today (1/28), we drove into downtown Marshall, NC along the French Broad River. This area that was deeply affected by Hurricane Helene. While in the area, we met Rachel Bennett, a Community Relations Liaison for the Marshall Relief Alliance, a local non-profit organization. She walked us around town and told us various stories about the town’s history and how they are recovering. She mentioned the frequency of severe disasters and the impact of climate change. She talked about various stakeholders and involvement in the community. After leaving Marshall we drove to the Asheville Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and met Chief Jeremy Kingston, the emergency manager for the City of Asheville. In the presentation, he went over the impact that geography has on characteristics of the area like population, critical infrastructure, and flood plain zones. These characteristics make this area very difficult to manage. It was very impressive to hear from tenured professionals in emergency management and how their leadership has impacted the community before, during and after disasters.