Although Durham was inland enough that Hurricane Florence was felt mostly as a few days of heavy rain, it was devastating to southeastern North Carolina and the Outer Banks. Although the storm surge and winds were in line with other Carolina hurricanes, its lingering path across the eastern portion of the state dropped 35 inches of rain in some places. This caused severe flooding and power outages, closed thousands of roads, and disrupted the transport of food and supplies to the eastern swath of the state.
Operation Airdrop is a nonprofit organization formed in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in 2017 to deliver supplies to inaccessible areas after natural disasters. I was lucky enough to be able to fit one Airdrop mission between a week of neuroanesthesia and a week of night call. Erin, a combined internal medicine / pediatrics resident, and I delivered a batch of food, bottled water, batteries, bug spray, and childcare supplies to Columbus County, North Carolina. It was rewarding to have the opportunity to help out in this small way, and the story got picked up by the Duke Anesthesia newsletter.
 |
 |
Leave a Reply