WORLD after the flood

As a rule, it’s best that you depend on our reporters and editors for accurate, timely news and this space for updates about WORLD. But today the two converge with this update on the effect of Hurricane Helene on our headquarters and Asheville staff. While our coverage has focused on the devastation across the Southeastern United States, I can offer a personal glimpse into how Helene—a still-­potent tropical storm by the time it reached us—has affected our team and our ability to carry on our mission.

First, the good news: Our staff and their families are safe. It took several tense days to confirm this, especially as most of our people had no cell service. Some of our staff were able to leave town and stay with family and friends in other cities, but that wasn’t an option for everyone. The rest of us stayed in Asheville, which meant living without electricity, running water, cellular service, or internet. Almost three weeks after the storm, parts of the city still lack these basic services.

We’re thankful for the physical safety of our staff, but please pray for their spiritual and emotional strength. We’re witnessing a lot of tragedy around us, with many friends and neighbors having lost more than we have. Even the simplest daily tasks have become difficult. The challenges add up.

As for our offices, this is where we get into the bad news. The two buildings we occupy in Asheville are located across the street from one another in an area called Biltmore Village. Geographically, Biltmore Village is a low-lying area near the confluence of the Swannanoa and French Broad rivers. They flood often, but I’ve not seen this level of devastation.

And certainly not to our offices. Our main offices occupy a building on slightly higher ground compared with many others in the village, so we had some misplaced confidence that it would be safe during this storm. We were more concerned about our building across the street, which houses our studios for WORLD Watch and The World and Everything in It, as well as our marketing and member-services departments. We did believe that any flooding there would be minor at worst.

During the two days of rain leading up to the storm—the final Wednesday and Thursday of September—our expectations seemed to hold. By Friday morning, however, the weather worsened, the city lost power and almost all forms of communication, and all our staff wisely stayed home.

Kevin Martin’s office after the flood (left) and the entrance to our studios across the street (note the waterline). Sandy Barwick

The storm sent approximately 6 feet of water and mud rushing through our studio building, while 4 to 5 feet inundated our main office building. The lights hanging from the studio ceiling were the only things salvageable of any real financial value. We did manage to recover a few items of historical or personal significance, such as the old rolltop desk used by Joel Belz and, before him, by Henry Dendy, the editor of The Presbyterian Journal. We aren’t sure if the desk can be restored—it was submerged and sustained significant damage—but we thought it was worth trying.

The buildings themselves, which we lease, are still standing, unlike some of the other structures in Biltmore Village. Our landlord wants to rebuild the interiors, repair any structural damage, and have us continue using the buildings beyond the term of our current lease.

I’m not sure we can. Even before the flood, we had been discussing our evolving needs. We need less space for traditional offices and more for production, training, and classrooms. We’ve also been considering housing for our growing number of interns, fellows, and young employees, who struggle to find affordable rentals in a town like Asheville.

These considerations have taken on a new urgency. It’s one thing to think about WORLD’s future needs when we have a comfortable office with 20 months left on our lease. It’s entirely different when we are facing needs suddenly.

On that note, here’s some more good news: When our friends at Evangelism Explosion International heard what had happened, they quickly offered space in their building, including recording studios. I’m hardly the only person indebted to the ministry of EE, but I couldn’t be more grateful. And finally, good news you may already know—you and others in our larger WORLD family stepped in and gave much-needed funding to help see us through. Thanks to all of you, we won’t take a huge financial hit just to get back to work.