Hurricane Helene is the second deadliest hurricane in the US since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. We’ve seen dozens of stories about people who died in the devastation the hurricane brought, and it is absolutely heartbreaking to see what has happened in the weeks since the natural disaster hit.
But there is one bright spot. One video on TikTok showed two men who worked together to ensure that one man’s wife was able to salvage the breast milk she had stored. Using a river that was raging due to the storm, they created a system to get the milk across. And the story is inspiring.
More from CafeMom: 4- & 7-Year-Old Siblings Both Killed While Sleeping in the Bed They Shared During Hurricane Helene
The video has over 1 million views.
TikTok user Emily Singleton, shared a video on the app showing the grit of North Carolina residents during Hurricane Helene.
“Appalachian folks makeshifting ways to save breastmilk for their babies during the flood,” she wrote over the video, which shows two men in the woods.
The men did what they had to do.
Singleton spoke with People about the video, which showed two men in Roaring Creek, North Carolina. The men were her friends, Josh Johnson and Graham Avery, and they were working together to save the breast milk of Avery’s wife, Logan.
“The day after the storm, Logan and Graham were trying to figure out how to save her breast milk and escape to her parents house that had a generator,” she explained. “The bridge out of their house had became inaccessible due to extremely high water, and they had to shimmy across fallen trees to get out.”
They got creative and used their circumstances to their benefit.
When Avery got to the other side, he and Johnson, who is his brother-in-law, got as much rope as they could, using it to pull the coolers across the raging water. They used the water as a makeshift highway to get the coolers across. Another benefit? The water kept the breast milk cold longer.
“If you are ever in this scenario without a generator … creeks and rivers and springs can keep milk cold for a few days, which is what all of our Mamaws and Papaws had to do growing up,” Singleton pointed out.
More from CafeMom: Dad Treks 30 Miles Through Storm Wreckage on Foot To Walk His Daughter Down the Aisle
The video is an example of the resilience of people in the region.
Singleton captioned the video with an impassioned plea to cooler brand Yeti, asking them to “sponsor us.” People in the comments chimed in, praising the men for getting the job done.
“Appalachia was settled off this same grit, determination and sense of community,” one person wrote. “Seeing everyone helping, rigging up pulley systems. Makes me even prouder to be from there…”
“This hurts my mama heart, but makes me so proud to be an American,” someone else wrote. “THIS is what it’s about. God bless yall.”
Another person chimed in: “Trout line for mommas gold! 😭❤️I absolutely love my countrymen!”
North Carolina was hit hardest during Hurricane Helene.
Hurricane Helene is the deadliest hurricane to hit the mainland US since Katrina in 2005, according to the Associated Press. The category 4 hurricane made landfall on September 26, and caused a significant amount of devastation. About half of the more than 225 people who died were from North Carolina, per the AP.
