Areas of the southeastern United States are digging out from the devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene with the help of folks from across the street and across the country.

In those states which were so badly affected by the storm, at least 159 were killed by the storm, with more expected, and billions of dollars in property damage has been reported.

“Communities were wiped off the map,” North Carolina’s governor, Roy Cooper, said of his state at a news conference Tuesday.

Butler County natives Neal Donnelly and Tyler Kotch, now North Carolina residents, are helping with recovery efforts.

Here at home, Krill Recycling, a family-owned scrap metal recycling company based in Clearfield Township, said on social media it is sending trucks to Tennessee and other surrounding states packed with vital supplies.

The company said Tennessee “holds a special place in our hearts,” and put out a call for donations of supplies such as paper towels, nonelectric can openers, soap and jugs of water. Trucks will leave for the south over the weekend.

“We frequently visit the area,” said co-owner Amanda Krill. “We’ve taken our children down, and we also take our employees down for the Fourth of July for a company trip.”

The Butler area Salvation Army has sent disaster relief experts and supplies to help, and the Western Pennsylvania American Red Cross has said they have so many supplies that there’s no room to store them. They instead recommend cash donations.

On top of that, Gov. Josh Shapiro has deployed state resources to help.

And all of this is just a snapshot of what Butler and the state have dispatched to aid in recovery efforts. More stories of assistance from our area are sure to be published in the coming days and weeks.

It’s helpful to remember that while you can’t walk next door and knock, the people of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia are our American neighbors.

We help our neighbors in need.

— RJ