(LEX 18) — 30 Starlink ground terminals, which connect to satellites, have been flown into North Carolina, giving people a direct line outside of their flooded city. Kentucky storm chaser Chris Hall is dedicated to making sure people have a sliver of hope.
Search and rescue crews, along with hundreds of volunteers, have spent days cleaning up after Hurricane Helene flattened several cities across western North Carolina.
Already, Helene's death toll across six states has passed 150, and at least 50 people have died around Asheville, North Carolina. Thousands of people in several states are still without electricity, water, food, and shelter.
"There's houses that are hanging up against trees. Cars stacked on top of each other from flood waters, it's just devastation everywhere," said Chris Hall, a 606 Storm Chaser providing Starlinks. "It's really devastating to see the amount of damage here. It's something that you don't want to see, but you have to be prepared to see it. It's going to take a lot to get these people back on their feet."
Since Friday night, Hall and his team have traveled through North Carolina to hand out food, water, gasoline, generators, chainsaws, and Starlink ground terminals. "We'll drop the Starlinks to them and say, hey here's $200 and a month of unlimited data. Just to let y'all connect back to the world ya know. And then they get to keep the Starlink afterwards on down the road."
The Starlink ground terminals connect to a massive system of Starlink satellites owned by Elon Musk. They can be a lifeline for anyone in a disaster situation without cell service. The equipment makes it possible to text and make calls.
Partnered with Marco Patriots, Hall has handed out almost 30 Starlink terminals, with more to be distributed.
"Keep these people, not even just in North Carolina. East Tennessee all the way down to Flordia. Even parts of Georgia. Keep these people in your thoughts and prayers. They're gonna need it for not just today, not just tomorrow. They're gonna need it for months, years ahead. I mean there's going to be some people who never recover from this."
On Tuesday afternoon, around 3 p.m., Hall installed another Starlink ground terminal at the North Canton Fire Department in Canton, NC.
Hall also sent a mobile Denny's diner to Asheville, NC, to serve hot meals to the area's residents.
