As rescuers continue to pluck the human survivors from the floodwaters left by Hurricane Helene, some are turning their attention to other survivors in need — pets and farm animals trapped in the storm-drenched south.
Others showed horses in ravaged rural communities being pulled through chest-deep waters — including one video of Good Samaritans freeing a number of them from a flooded farm, which owners told Newsweek had been perilously left behind after workers were unable to reach them in the storm.
And in Catawba, South Carolina, 11 horses were rescued in one operation during the thick of the flooding Friday night, according to WBTV.
The storm — which has killed at least 189 people across six states — has left not just millions without power, but also entire communities without a reliable source of potable water.
Those shortages mean many rescued animals are not out of the woods yet as local shelters they would otherwise go to cannot care for them — not to mention the countless other animals already in their care.
In response, animal shelters outside of the damage zone have stepped in to help — with animal rescue groups from across country not only sending resources, but accepting transports of animals to hold and help find foster care in new cities.
The Asheville Humane Society — based in the thick of Helene’s damage, where numerous people remain missing — has evacuated at least 100 animals since the storm winds passed, largely because of the loss of safe drinking water.
“Potable and clean water is an essential resource for keeping the animals happy and hydrated, but it’s also necessary for cleaning the kennels and ensuring that hands are sanitized in preparation for medical procedures,” Asheville Humane Society’s content coordinator Colleen Daly told the Citizen Times.
“And it’s extremely difficult, if not impossible, to take care of the number of animals in our care given those circumstances,” she said.
“This is going to be — I mean, it is — an unprecedented challenge to care for our animals.”
Rescues as far away as Rhode Island and Massachusetts — and even Wisconsin — have begun taking in animals castaway from Helene’s destruction.
A load of 14 dogs from a South Carolina’s storm-damaged Aiken County Animal Shelter are due to arrive at the Potter League for Animals in Middletown, Rhode Island, on Thursday morning, according to the Providence Journal.
In Massachusetts, MSPCA-Angell has already received dozens of animals from storm-affected shelters in the south, WCVB reported.
And halfway across the country in Waukesha, Wisconsin, over 100 animals landed at the local airport Tuesday morning and were received by the Humane Animal Welfare Society.
“We’re helping clear out shelters so animals that have loving families down there can get back home,” society executive director Maggie Tate-Techtmann told TMJ4.