Learning the Lessons from Helene

State Climatologist Dr. Andrew Joyner leads effort to study damage, mitigate future disaster

When Hurricane Helene devastated large swaths of Southern Appalachia in late September 2024, resulting in death and destruction of property throughout the mountain region, many people wondered how the storm could have had such an impact so far inland.

Dr. Andrew Joyner quickly jumped in to assess the damage, search for answers, and begin the process of using the lessons learned from this disaster to lessen the impact of future storms.

Joyner, who called Helene a “generational event,” is Tennessee’s official climatologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Geosciences at ETSU.

Joyner said “a terrible convergence of various factors” contributed to the devastation wrought by Helene. Rainfall in parts of the Southeast in the days before the hurricane had saturated the soil, making it more likely to flood. A storm system that drew moisture all the way from the Gulf Coast drenched mountain peaks, and Helene rose at a near-perfect angle over the mountains to intensify the rainfall, resulting in mind-boggling amounts of fast-moving floodwaters.

As he assessed damages, Joyner heard a consistent refrain from emergency responders: “It’s the worst flooding they’ve ever seen, and these are responders who have been in other disaster environments.”

On October 2, only a few days after the flood, Joyner and his team used drones to survey farms, communities, and infrastructure in Washington and Greene counties. Their focus was on the upper and lower sections of the Nolichucky River, where multiple bridges and properties were destroyed by floodwaters.

Footage from these drone surveys was used in creating a series of videos – “Rising with Hope: Appalachia After Hurricane Helene” – that explained different factors that had a role in making the storm so catastrophic in this region. This video series also documented ETSU’s “Bucs Rebuild Together” movement, the resilience of the region, and efforts to plan hazard mitigation for the future.

ETSU researcher building flood dashboard using generative AI

As the region continues on the long road to recovery from the devastation of Hurricane Helene, an ETSU researcher is developing a cutting-edge dashboard using generative artificial intelligence (AI) to assist in monitoring flooding in Central Appalachia.

Dr. Qian Huang of the Center for Rural Health and Research in ETSU’s College of Public Health, in collaboration with Dr. Tao Hu of Oklahoma State University, is using a two-pronged approach to create a flood dashboard for Appalachian communities:

• Data Enhancement and Automation: Leveraging generative AI to optimize the collection, processing, and integration of various data sources to automate the dashboard interface; and
• Community Engagement: Conducting a Community Engagement Studio to ensure the dashboard’s user-friendliness and replicability.

Whereas traditional dashboards often rely on professional expertise and time-consuming human analysis, creating a bottleneck, generative AI can expedite and automate these processes, improving awareness and preparedness.

“Our team is eager to conduct this project and contribute to enhancing hazard awareness and preparedness in Appalachia,” Huang said.

Funded by a $20,000 grant from the Earth Science Information Partners Lab, this project will create a state-of-the-art flood monitoring dashboard for Central Appalachia’s 82 counties in Eastern Kentucky, West Virginia, Southwest Virginia, and Northeast Tennessee. It will display historical flooding events, flood predictions, demographic data, social determinants of health, and access to health care.

This innovative project has the potential to significantly enhance flood preparedness and response efforts in Central Appalachia, providing communities with the information and tools they need to build resilience in the face of climate change.

Resilient Schools Project expands outreach to help more regional schools mitigate ACEs in wake of Helene

Much attention is given these days to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and Hurricane Helene’s flooding and devastation certainly caused adverse experiences for many children throughout Appalachia. Faculty at ETSU are working hard to equip educators in numerous regional school systems to help the children in affected areas, some of whom experienced severe trauma.

The Resilient Schools Project is an innovative partnership to support the goals of districts and individual schools in mitigating the effects of ACEs among students and teachers through community-engaged learning. This five-year initiative – a partnership of ETSU’s Clemmer College of Education and Human Development, the ETSU Ballad Health Strong BRAIN Institute, and Unicoi County Schools – helps local administrators identify and implement tools, resources, and practices that foster student success and well-being.

The Johnson County School District joined the partnership as it grew in its fourth year to include 17 schools from five districts in Tennessee and one in Virginia, according to Dr. Ginger Christian, Assistant Professor in ETSU’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis and Director of the Resilient Schools Project.

As disaster recovery efforts continue, Ballad Health Behavioral Health has supported the new district partnership, helping create Resilient Schools’ innovative spaces and expand evidence-based practices to help other schools and districts impacted by the storm.

“In the wake of Hurricane Helene, our team leveraged expertise throughout ETSU’s colleges and community agencies to respond to individual school requests through short- and long-term response plans with intentional resources based on student needs,” Christian said. “The ‘train the trainer’ model provides educators and students with resources and strategies to support academic, social, and emotional growth through the recovery phases.”

Highlighting the project’s impact, Dr. Amy Horton, Supervisor of Special Education for Unicoi County Schools, said, “The positive outcomes of this project are evident in the increased resilience and improved mental health of our students, the enhanced skills and confidence of our educators, and the overall upliftment of our communities.”

By Jennifer Hill