Behind The Scenes with 101st Airborne Division in Chimney Rock, NC

Behind The Scenes with 101st Airborne Division in Chimney Rock, NC | Active-duty Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Kentucky, mobilize to North Carolina to provide disaster relief support to the community of Chimney Rock in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Oct. 10, 2024.

Staff Sgt. Kyle Clark, an infantryman, provides a working interview during the B-Roll package. The Soldiers helped clear mud and debris that filled homes and stores along the Broad River, which flooded during the storm and destroyed properties, roads, bridges, marinas and took down power and telephone poles.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency provides the generators while the Emergency Power Team from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers coordinates with a contractor to install the generators at critical facilities, such as hospitals, first-responder centers and water resource stations. The Pittsburgh District is the lead office for USACE to coordinate the emergency power program. They coordinate Planning Response Teams from across the nation to deploy to disaster areas within 48 hours to communities in need.

USACE is working in partnership with the local, state, and federal response to the Hurricane Helene. 261 USACE personnel are deployed, coordinating with partners in the affected areas. Additionally, 65 USACE personnel are supporting response efforts via reach-back and has 218 contractor personnel deployed.

The Temporary Emergency Power Planning and Response Team in North Carolina consists of employees from the Pittsburgh and Honolulu districts as well as Soldiers from the 249th Prime Power Engineer Battalion, and contractors. So far, the team has installed more than 20 generators and completed more than 40 assessments to determine further emergency power needs.

The Wilmington District oversees the disaster response and relief effort on behalf of USACE in North Carolina. The district provides support to western North Carolina through execution of FEMA mission assignments.

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(U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District video by Michel Sauret)