Mercer University student Chloe Paulk spent the last two weekends helping with hurricane relief efforts in her hometown. The junior marketing and entrepreneurship double-major is from Ocilla, a small town about 100 miles south of Macon that was among those impacted by Hurricane Helene on Sept. 27.
Paulk drove home the day before the storm, so she would be there to lend a hand if there was damage. Her father, Wesley, is a farmer who grows corn, cotton and peanuts, and her mother, Hope, works for electric company Irwin EMC.
The hurricane downed power lines across the city, knocking out 11,218 of its 12,661 power meters, according to Irwin EMC. Whole trees were uprooted, blocking roads and going through people’s houses, Paulk said.
“I’m going to be honest. Friday (the day the hurricane hit) it looked like you were riding through a war zone,” she said on Oct. 3. “It’s very extensive damage. We’re hearing guys who’ve worked here 30 to 35 years say they’ve never seen anything like this.”
Stationed at the Irwin EMC office, Paulk helped prepare and deliver meals for the 200 linemen and tree removal workers, 40 from Ocilla and the rest of whom traveled from Texas, Arkansas and other parts of Georgia.
“I see these linemen working around the clock to get power back on,” she said. “We’re getting as many resources and supplies as we can to support them. It’s kind of been one of those things where you don’t ask what you can do to help, you just do it.”
Paulk also logged power outages; communicated with customers; coordinated laundry services for workers; and picked up food, drinks and supplies. Communication was a challenge initially while cellphone towers were down.
“I’m so glad I get to communicate with people in the community and see what their needs are and how we can help them,” Paulk said. “We’ve been at the office well before the sun comes up and stayed until well after the sun went down.”
After arriving in South Georgia on Sept. 26, Paulk returned to Macon on Sept. 30 for three days of Mercer classes, drove back to Ocilla on the evening of Oct. 2, and then returned to Macon on Oct. 6.
Ocilla and surrounding areas are agriculture communities, and the farms — which take years to build — were hit hard by the storm. Paulk said about half of the timber on her father’s property was destroyed, and some of the pecan farmers lost a significant portion of their farms.
“What we’re seeing is farmers’ crops are devastated, and they’ve lost what they worked on for months. That impacts everybody in the long run,” Paulk said. “This couldn’t have been a worse time for the storm to hit. You have farmers getting ready to pick in the fields and aren’t able to do so now. It’s really going to put a damper on the outcome this year.”
Amid the hardships, Paulk also saw people stepping up to help their neighbors. For instance, many farmers used their equipment to help with tree removals.
“I am so glad that I get to see that side of storms,” she said. “There’s a lot of damage around and a lot of bad things that have happened, but I get to see the flip side of that where the community comes together and provides for one another. I’m from a two-light town where everybody knows everybody there. I’m seeing community members come out left and right to help. It’s one of the situations where it’s been all-hands on deck.”