Hurricanes Helene & Milton: A Visual Timeline
On September 26, 2024, Hurricane Helene made landfall as a powerful Category 4 storm, unleashing widespread destruction and claiming more than 230 lives. Some of the most serious damage was in North Carolina, where record-breaking flooding cut off entire communities leading to dangerous shortages of food, water, gas, and power.
Two weeks later, on October 9, 2024, Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida as a dangerous Category 3 storm, wrecking coastal communities that were already struggling to recover from previous storms.
Project HOPE is responding to both emergencies and has teams on the ground in North Carolina and Florida providing urgent relief to local clinics and shelters. Here is how our response unfolded as the level of need became clear in the wake of two devastating emergencies.
September 26, 2024
At 11 p.m., Hurricane Helene makes landfall in Perry, Florida.
September 27, 2024
Now a tropical storm, Helene brings record-breaking rainfall to North Carolina, dumping as much as two feet of water in some rural communities.
October 1, 2024
Project HOPE deploys an emergency response team to North Carolina and begins distributions of essential supplies to local clinics and shelters.
October 2, 2024
With water access becoming a serious health issue, Project HOPE’s distributions include clean water so clinics and shelters can continue providing essential services.
Charitable clinics play a vital role in the aftermath of an emergency, ensuring that high-risk populations can access care and resources. Project HOPE began supporting free and charitable clinics across North Carolina during our response, including Vecinos, which serves farmworkers who are uninsured or underinsured.
Yolanda Pinzon, outreach director at Vecinos, visits a home that lost water and power for 15 days following Hurricane Helene. The 11 farmworkers living in the house were forced to use a nearby creek as a water source.
Maria*, her husband José*, and 20-year old son Carlos* lived in their truck for two days following the storm. “We were watching the river. There was a moment when it went up to our knees and that’s when we had to leave,” she said.
Project HOPE distributed hygiene items to Vecinos in the immediate aftermath of the storm and is planning longer-term support to help the clinic expand care to hard-to-reach communities.
As communities in North Carolina began to dig out from Hurricane Helene, another powerful storm began to bear down on Florida. Project HOPE, in partnership with SAMU First Response, pre-positioned an emergency response team in Florida to be able to respond to Hurricane Milton as soon as the storm moved through the area.
October 9, 2024
Project HOPE pre-positions our team in Florida as Hurricane Milton makes landfall near Siesta Key as a dangerous Category 3 storm.
October 10, 2024
Project HOPE and our partner, SAMU First Response, arrive in affected areas and begin clearing trees and debris near Sarasota, Fla.
October 11, 2024
Project HOPE begins distributing essential hygiene items to shelters and clinics in Sarasota County, Fla.
Many coastal communities were already recovering from Hurricane Debby and Hurricane Milton. “It’s just a mental stress for everybody,” said Angela Miles, pastor of Bethlehem Bible Church, where Project HOPE distributed more than 230 hygiene kits. “Along with not having power, food, or water, some people don’t even have houses.”
October 2024
In addition to meeting urgent needs like medications, hygiene supplies, and clean water, Project HOPE is assessing long-term impacts and identifying opportunities to strengthen the health system.
