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Cristina Grossu Biffle received more than 1,500 panicked messages on her personal email and social media shortly after Hurricane Helene struck her home state of North Carolina. Grossu Biffle, GRI, SRS, a real estate professional with Realty ONE Group Select in Mooresville, N.C., and her brokerage were located about two hours outside of the storm’s impact zone, but the frantic messages coming in pleaded for help to check on loved ones or vacationers who rented Airbnb properties in remote mountain areas.
One from a frantic client read: “We haven’t heard from Brad! Can you check on Brad and make sure he’s OK?”
Floodwater from Helene had washed away roads, homes and businesses, knocking out power and electricity for hundreds of thousands of residents. So, after responding to several calls for help, Grossu Biffle and her husband, Greg, a NASCAR driver and pilot, hopped into the helicopter they own.
They joined others who own private helicopters to begin flying rescue missions into remote communities, often risking their own lives as they landed on steep, forested terrain and flooded-out areas that larger planes couldn’t reach. The group began flights to deliver supplies to those stranded, including food and water.
Grossu Biffle says she’s still in shock from what she saw, flying beside her husband on 10 flights. “It’s just overwhelming,” she says. Some people are walking down the road, waving at you from below, trying to get your attention. And you can see that one mile up the road where they’re walking—there’s no road. It’s washed away. It’s a road to nowhere.”
The mirror that caught our attention well over a mile away, only way we we were able to find someone stranded in the mountains at bottom of steep canyon. 6 attempts to land due to difficulty but we got there - got him a chainsaw, EpiPens, insulin, chicken food, formula, gas, 2… pic.twitter.com/Wdl4w7hMZM
— Greg Biffle (@gbiffle) October 3, 2024
How You Can Help
As of Monday morning, the REALTORS® Relief Foundation had raised more than $500,000, which will go toward housing-related assistance for Helene victims. One hundred percent of the funds go directly to those impacted by the disaster. Here are three ways real estate professionals can donate to RRF:
- Text “HeleneRelief24” to 71777
- Visit rrf.realtor and click “Donate”
- Mail a check payable to:
REALTORS® Relief Foundation
430 N. Michigan Avenue
Chicago, Ill. 60611 (include “RRF Contribution” in the memo)
Any donations to RRF can be earmarked specifically for Hurricane Helene relief through Oct. 11.
Grossu Biffle says the devastation became too intense for her after several flights. She and her husband would land on the side of a mountain and 10 to 20 people would rush up to them, wanting to get into the helicopter. But they only had two extra seats. The Biffles would take anyone they could while checking on the well-being of others and helping to deliver supplies.
“The hardest part for me is knowing that we can’t help everybody,” Grossu Biffle says. “I’m still receiving a ton of messages. All of these people have reached out, and we can’t respond back to everyone.”
At times, it would take multiple attempts to land the helicopter on uneven terrain, or they’d be forced to abandon their mission due to bad weather. Her husband has continued flying the aircraft on rescue missions—now he brings a safety pilot along with him—as Grossu Biffle coordinates emergency supplies on the ground.
The Biffles were able to help successfully coordinate the delivery of 500 Starlink satellite internet devices, which SpaceX and Polaris delivered on pallets to their home within eight hours of making a request. The Biffles began delivering those devices last Thursday to mountainside towns. The Starlink kits allow areas with no power or electricity to use their devices to get in touch with families or friends.
Meanwhile, Grossu Biffle fears many more deaths will emerge from the devastation. Of the 227 deaths reported as of Sunday across the six states that Helene struck, more than half have been in North Carolina. Hundreds are still missing.
“It will take years to rebuild,” Grossu Biffle says. “It just looks like a warzone. The widespread amount of devastation. The scale of this is incredible and the number of people stranded. The scale of this situation—I just don’t know how to put into words.”
On one flight with her husband last week, Grossu Biffle captured a rainbow peeking out from the clouds while floodwaters inundated communities below. It’s difficult to have hope while looking out at the devastation, she says, but “my hope comes from all the people who have been so willing to help. The volunteers have been incredible.”
