Updated at 3:30 p.m. ET on October 3, 2024
When Hurricane Helene struck his home in Hickory, North Carolina, Brock Long lost power for four days. Once his family was safe, he headed into the mountains of western North Carolina to help out. He knows the area well: He graduated from Appalachian State, which is in Boone, one of the hardest-hit places in the state. Long also knows a few things about charging into the breach after a major disaster. A career emergency manager, he led FEMA from 2017 to 2019 and is now the executive chairman of Hagerty Consulting, which specializes in emergency response.
Speaking with me by phone yesterday, Long sounded exhausted. But he offered a clear view of the challenges that emergency managers must confront in the aftermath of the storm—which has claimed at least 97 lives in North Carolina and more than 200 overall—including the continued struggle to rebuild communication networks and to reach residents who live in remote, mountainous areas where hurricanes are not a common danger…