For many people across the Southeastern United States, their autumn has been off to a catastrophic start.
As Floridians pick up the pieces after Hurricane Milton, thousands of people are still recovering from flooding, mudslides, and collapsing infrastructure.
Across North Carolina, 48,499 are still without power two weeks after Hurricane Helene made landfall, and as the death toll continues to climb, 1,412 people have been reported missing.
Amidst the devastation and heartbreak, one Asheville local turned to their city’s subreddit, looking for stories of hope.
“It’s been a week the trauma is settling in and we all could use a break,” Reddit user t-just-rando posted one week into the state’s recovery. “So if anyone has good or positive news let’s hear it! For our mental health, and for each other!”
In the days since, 245 people commented to share their “good news.”
“Our neighbor lost their cat the day of the storm,” one user responded. “They found him this morning hiding on a vacant apartment porch. We are all so happy for them!”
“We got power back last night and I got to take my first hot shower in a week this morning,” another local commented. “It’s the little pieces of normalcy that make it all worth it.”
“The Flush Brigade, comprised of six trucks and 75 volunteers, helped flush 1,964 toilets in nine Asheville communities,” said another.
“World [Central] Kitchen is here with hot meals,” one user responded, in recognition of the Chef José Andrés’ nonprofit, which has been serving over 16,000 hot meals a day in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina.
“I don’t have to eat something from a can unless I want to!” the user continued, saying the Meatloaf and Indian dishes were a welcome break in routine. “It’s like frickin’ Christmas!”
One user linked to a local news story about the Western North Carolina Nature Center, which is home to endangered species like red wolves, red pandas, and ‘mudpuppy’ salamanders, exclaiming that “all of their animals are alive and accounted for!”
“We did not lose a single animal, which is unbelievable,” confirmed Nature Center director Chris Gentile in an interview with the Citizen Times. “And all our staff members are accounted for, healthy, happy.”
Others chimed in with the gratitude they felt for volunteers and local nonprofits, like BeLoved Asheville, Brother Wolf Animal Rescue, and the Buncombe County Family Assistance Center, the last of which distributed over 5,000 care packages to households in need.
“I have run out of words to describe the kind of heroics I’ve seen daily,” one local wrote. “There are so so so many helpers. People are out here just talking and trying to take care of each other.”
Outside of Asheville, people across the country are looking for good news, too. It’s been a long two weeks, with back-to-back hurricanes, 48 tornadoes ripping through Florida, an enormous chemical fire in Georgia causing a mass evacuation of 90,000 people.
But there is always good news, if you know where to look: a local news team saved a family in peril, rescue crews saved stranded Manatees, animal shelters coordinated rescue efforts up and down the east coast, and ‘Cajun Navy’ volunteers are putting lifesaving organizations in place that will exist for years to come.
And for some people, it’s the little things that give them hope.
In Florida, a TikTok user posted a video of their dog happily splashing through flood waters from Milton, with the caption: “Oh to be a dog.”
“This is the hurricane content we needed to see,” a TikTok user replied.
“This is how I want to be when tough situations arise,” wrote another.
“It’s not about having the best of everything,” a commenter said, “but making the best of everything you have.”
Header mage via Federal Emergency Management Agency