In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene - WCU's experts on the ground assisting

Hurricane Helene brought record levels of devastation, damage and death along America's eastern coast.

Massive recovery efforts are underway and WCU's Lisa Briggs and her team were featured in an in-depth piece of coverage by USA Today.

Lisa Briggs, director of emergency and disaster management at Western Carolina University, and Onna, a 6-year-old full German Shepherd, are pictured getting off the water craft. The pair is part of a search operation at the French Broad River deployed after the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene.

Photo: Gaby Velasquez, USA TODAY

'Humbled by the river'

Hampton and his crews are organized through the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, not FEMA. Finding bodies is one challenge — extracting them from the river is another, he said.

Sometimes, the bodies are fastened to the boats and paddled to a safe opening in the shoreline, where they’re placed in body bags and driven over to county officials. Other times, the bodies need to be hiked out of a particularly dense stretch of wilderness.

The dogs are trained and led by Lisa Briggs, director of the Emergency and Disaster Management program at Western Carolina University and a regional leader in training cadaver dogs. At the start of the day, she gave a command, "Hunt up!" and Onna, the cadaver dog, excitedly pranced toward the raft.

At a shoreline littered with downed trees, roof siding, and shards of ripped clothes, Onna crisscrossed the sandy area, squeezing between branches and passionately sniffing the ground. Later, she jumped back in the raft and the team drifted downriver.

On that day, Hampton’s raft covered the right shoreline while another of his rafts with his twin brother, Jack, and other volunteers covered the left. They paddled and drifted down more than five miles, until around 5 p.m., when they pulled the boats.

It was a rare day: No bodies were found.  October 07 - USA Today

Onna, a 6-year-old full German Shepherd cadaver dog, gets off the shaft to sniff the ground along the river during a search and rescue operation at French Broad River on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in the aftermath of flooding caused by the remnants of Hurricane Helene.

Photo: Gaby Velasquez, USA TODAY

The work of the WCU team has been tremendous - and if you are interested in learning more about the role of cadaver dogs, how they are trained or the other work Lisa Briggs is taking on at Western Carolina University - then let us help with your coverage.

Lisa Briggs is the director of WCU’s emergency and disaster management program. She is available to speak with media any time - simply click on her icon now to arrange an interview today.