- A25 -

the FUTuRe IS Up to us REGENERATING ASHEVILLE creating a vibrant bioregional model that can be shared globally THE IMPACT OF HELENE On September 26th and 27th Hurricane Helene dumped 43 TRILLION gallons of water on the mountains of Western North Carolina. That is roughly the equivalent of Lake Tahoe being released in 36 hours over the French Broad watershed region. The physical effects were utterly devastating for Asheville and the surrounding areas of Swannanoa Chimney Rock Bat Cave Lake Lure Marshall and too many others to mention. Some of the stats released so far about the extent of damage include 1893 landslides 126000 home damaged 1000 bridges and culverts destroyed 6000 miles of road impassable 160 water and sewage systems incapacitated all totaling over 53 Billion in damages.