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BY SEAN DIETRICH

Dear God, today was a tough one.

If you’re listening to this prayer, Lord, we could use a little help down here. Where do I even begin?

Hurricane Helene made landfall as a category 4, with 140 mph winds. And all hell broke loose. The storm has taken at least 40 lives, across four states. That number will grow by the time this prayer reaches you, God.

The damage is unspeakable. The aftermath is shocking. It’s hard to watch the news. The images are downright – well – biblical.

Rescuers across the southeast are still rushing to free those trapped by the storm. Heaven only knows who’s still out there, waiting to be rescued. People are fighting for their lives, God. We’re talking about women and children.

Tampa is battered. Some areas of Florida are only reachable by boat. Cedar Key is beat up, with “water as high as the rooftops.” Keaton Beach. Steinhatchee. The whole Big Bend. Perry will be picking up the pieces for years to come.

And the hits keep coming, God.

Over 4.6 million are without power across the southeast. In South Carolina alone, over one million customers are without power. That’s more than 40 percent of homes and businesses in the state.

There were two South Carolina firefighters killed, struck by a falling tree. They were just trying to save people, God. They were rescuing innocent victims. They lost their lives while helping others.

At least 17 people have died in South Carolina from Helene. And the number keeps climbing.

In North Carolina, it’s just as bad. Four people are badly injured after a tornado touched down in the Rocky Mount area.

There have also been mudslides, along with rivers of torrential floodwaters, washing out the interstates at the North Carolina-Tennessee state line.

The death toll in Georgia has risen to 15.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has deployed more than 1,500 workers. By late morning, emergency workers had already assisted in 400 rescues. Help them, God.

Tennessee has been suffering, too. Dozens were rescued by helicopter. Fifty-four people, staff and patients, were moved to the roof of the Unicoi County Hospital to wait for rescuers while water tore through the facility.

In eastern Tennessee, thousands were evacuated after the failure of Waterville dam. Meantime, less than 100 miles away, the water was topping the Lake Lure dam. Water flows over the top of the Nolichucky dam near Greeneville at a rate of 30,000 cubic feet per second.

And that’s just scratching the surface, God. There are a lot of people who need your help right now. Maybe even people reading these very words on their phones.

Maybe these people are trapped in their homes, or camped out in some makeshift community shelter. Maybe they feel helpless, or alone, or lost. Maybe they’ve lost someone. Maybe they’ve lost everything.

I believe you can help them, God. I’ve seen you do it before. I know you can do it again. You once said that whenever someone needed something, all they had to do was ask. So this is me, asking you for help.

In your name we pray.

Amen.
(Sean Dietrich is a columnist, humorist, multi-instrumentalist, and stand-up storyteller known for his commentary on life in the American South.)