“This doesn’t happen in Asheville. People were just not prepared for what I’ve heard some people say is a thousand-year flood,” Saga Communications’ Asheville Media Group Market President Tom Davis tells Radio Ink about the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
The storm carved a path of destruction throughout the Southeastern US starting on Thursday, leading to unprecedented flooding in Western North Carolina and East Tennessee as several dams failed in the wake of more than 17 inches of rainfall delivered over three days. The staff of Asheville Media Group is thankfully all safe, but their community is hurting and the immediate danger still hasn’t gone away.
In Buncombe County, where more than 30 bodies have been recovered, Emergency Services Assistant Director Ryan Cole described the destruction as “biblical.” Many homes in the northern part of Asheville do not have running water, which is expected to be restored later, rather than sooner. Almost a half-million in North Carolina were without power as of Sunday night.
And that affects AMG, who are keeping their seven stations on the air one five-gallon fuel can at a time, feeding generators at the tower site as they anxiously wait for power to be restored. Yet, it could be worse. Stations from the Gulf Coast to Appalachia have been damaged or destroyed by Helene. In Erwin, TN, the building housing Jet Broadcasting’s all-news Livewire Radio 103.9 (WXIS) and FOX Sports Radio affiliate WEMB-AM was completely washed away.
Asheville is counting on AMG – and all available stations, regardless of ownership – to stay on the air. As has been proven time and time again, radio is often the final line of communication left standing when disaster strikes. We talked to Davis about his experience with Helene and radio’s role in the region’s path to recovery.
Radio Ink: This flooding went to extremes so quickly. How did you all mobilize on the on-air side?
Tom Davis: Once it became a problem and a challenge, we knew what had to be done. It’s not just flooding. It’s anywhere from no cell service to no internet to no electricity to trees falling on generators. You don’t realize how much you use until it’s not there.
Our Operations Manager Steve Richards was on it right away. He got to the studio as soon as he could. Some of the on-air staff has been in as well. We’re not really playing a lot of music, but just reporting. Some of us have experience from other types of storms like this, from previous jobs in Florida and places like that.
The bottom line is you push forward. Being in broadcasting, this responsibility to stay on the air and report what’s going on is ingrained in us. It gets tested in situations like this.
Radio Ink: How have your stations been coordinating with local authorities, first responders, and other organizations to keep the public informed?
Tom Davis: Well, we already built those contacts. Plus with our local news product, 828 News Now, we’re even more ingrained in the local community and so we’ve been trying to get communication with them. But again, that’s what’s so ironic about all this is when you don’t have cell service, when you don’t have internet service, you know, when you don’t have power all of a sudden, how do you communicate?
So it’s been intermittent and it’s a little more consistent now, but just reaching out to our sources and getting as much information as we can, given the lack of technology available to us.
Radio Ink: 828 News Now launched in April. It’s still a relatively new product for you all. How do you mobilize a digital product in an emergency like this compared to over the air?
Tom Davis: We have to work together. The on-air staff uses 828 News Now heavily, again, because of the contacts and the ability to gather the information. It’s become just a natural part of what we do to use our news product as a source. But, again, its getting in touch with our contacts that is proving the most difficult.
Radio Ink: You mentioned cell service before. With power outages and disrupted cell service, what role do you see radio playing in helping to maintain communication with those in the hardest-hit areas?
Tom Davis: In some places, it’s literally the only form of communication. It really reminds you of the necessity of radio.
We’re fortunate to be a part of a situation where we can get the word out. It’s been crazy. But again, most of us have been in this business for a while, and we make sure we do everything we can to get the word out.
When it’s all said and done, it is about the people and our team and what they’ve been able to do to get the word out and communicate and continue to do so. We’re in no way, shape, or form out of the woods yet, but just the team that we have and their dedication to broadcasting, it just makes you proud.
To find out how to assist those in WNC affected by Helene, click here.
Help ensure that Americans retain access to a vital lifeline in times of crisis as automakers try to remove it. Contact your members of Congress by texting AM to 52886, urging them to support legislation that ensures AM radio remains in cars.
Hats off to our Saga family in Ashville. They are doing what we in Radio are best at. We hope the staff and their families and properties are all okay. Stay strong Ashville.