While much of North Carolina, especially the coastal area, was lashed by Hurricane Florence in mid-September and beyond (with its after-effects), the Asheville area in the western mountains largely escaped the massive storm’s wrath and could count its blessings.

As we rejoice over the lack of damage to our Paris of the South and its gorgeous surrounding communities,  we join the rest of the state and nation in wishing and praying for the best for our neighbors to the east of us in North Carolina and also to those hard hit in South Carolina and Virginia.

The storm was originally a Category 4 hurricane, but, fortunately for all involved, it lost some strength and made landfall as a Category 1 in the Wilmington area.

As the storm crept inland after walloping the coast, the Asheville area was projected to be deluged by 5 to 10 inches of rain and possible major wind guests, but it weakened considerably and quickly veered north, giving our region a mere 3.29 inches of rain — nothing to write home about, despite pre-storm panic that cleared grocery store shelves of milk, bread, toilet paper and other necessities. Also, a number of gas stations ran dry as locals kept topping off their fuel tanks. The Asheville Regional Airport, which often sees less rain than other parts of the region, recorded only 1.34 inches from the remnants of Florence.

However, a few areas around Asheville did suffer storm damage, including flooding that forced an evacuation of 60 people at the Portman Villas Mobile Home Park in Black Mountain.

Besides wishes and prayers, we are delighted with the Asheville area’s response — via donations and volunteers — to help those who are still suffering from the ravages of  the hurricane. To that end, we encourage those who are able to pitch in and who have not done so yet, to show they care.