Cajun Navy 2016 chaplain says Helene devastation 'worst' he's seen, blasts feds' 'ego problem'
Trump to survey hurricane damage Monday
MONTREAT, N.C. — A Christian chaplain with Cajun Navy 2016 assisting with relief efforts in western North Carolina said the devastation he witnessed in the wake of Hurricane Helene was the worst he has ever seen in his years of working with the nonprofit.
Speaking to The Christian Post in an interview last week before the organization moved out of the area on Friday, chaplain Mitch Collier also claimed federal officials were nowhere to be seen in the area for days after Helene ripped through Appalachia three weeks ago.
"It's been tough," Collier said. "Luckily, I have the strength of the Lord in me, because some people wouldn't be able to handle the things we've seen, some of the things we went through, some of the devastation that we looked at while trying to help people."
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"God is good. God sent us up here. I found some people that God steered me to. One man told me that I saved his life. I said, 'God saved your life,'" he added.
Cajun Navy 2016, also known as Pinnacle Search & Rescue, is a nonprofit organization that was among several nonprofits that descended immediately on the scenes of devastation in places such as western North Carolina, where the unprecedented floods from Helene wiped entire communities off the map.
The organization changed its name in 2019 to distinguish itself from other groups with similar names, according to local WAFB.
Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to travel to the area Monday to survey the damage caused by the hurricane and deliver remarks to the press.
Collier said he has helped the nonprofit organization's relief efforts in almost every major storm that has afflicted the United States since he joined in 2017, but noted Helene's havoc stands out to him.
"These people need help up here," he said. "This is the worst, most devastating storm I've ever been in. It's bad. I'm happy to give anybody prayer and hope, because that's what God's saved my life for, but it's really been an emotional roller coaster."
"As a matter of fact, I broke down this morning listening to a song that God would never leave me, just thinking about how we can't imagine what these people went through," he said. "One day, the creek is 6 inches deep. Next hour, it's 40 feet deep; an hour later, it was 200 feet wide, and just took everything in its path."
Collier also said he didn't know the death toll, but said he imagines "it's gonna be pretty up there" based on what he has seen.
As of Sunday, only 95 people have been confirmed dead from Helene in North Carolina, according to the state's Department of Health and Human Services. Only 42 deaths have been reported in Buncombe County, where one family alone reportedly lost 11 people.
CP reached out to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services regarding the death toll, and was told the statistics have been taken up by state authorities.
"We understand that Buncombe County decided to stop their independent reporting as of last week and are relying on the state to report storm-related deaths," a spokesperson for NC DHHS told CP.
Collier was critical of the federal response to the disaster and claimed the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was especially slow to respond to the area.
"You really want me to talk about them?" he said regarding federal officials. "We didn't see FEMA or nobody until eight days later, eight days after the fact. And then they're trying to shut people down from helping. I think they want to get the glory or got an ego problem. I don't know what it is."
Collier asked that Christians would be praying for guidance to those who are continuing to reel from the disaster, and that those still missing loved ones would be able to obtain closure, even if the end is tragic.
"This is going to be a big deal, because people aren't going to be able to get closure for their loved ones," he said. He recounted that after he and some others prayed for a man who was trying to find his missing son, they eventually found his son's body.
"His dad was just so relieved that they did find him and could get closure. That was an awesome situation there, and we were blessed to be a part of it. They didn't find him alive, but he still got closure," he said. "A lot of them are not going to find their loved ones."
Despite the carnage and suffering, Collier said he has also seen goodness emerge as Americans bear each other's burdens.
"I tell people, why does it take a disaster for everybody to come together as one? Why couldn't this world be like it all the time? It would be so much better, because when I say 'pray,' wherever I'm at, there's no racism at all. It's all togetherness."
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that Collier is a chaplain with Cajun Navy 2016, and not the United Cajun Navy, which is a separate organization.
Jon Brown is a reporter for The Christian Post. Send news tips to [email protected]
