Jewish donors, foundations and organizations are scrambling to provide funds and resources to relief operations following the devastation caused by last week’s Hurricane Helene, which battered large swaths of North and South Carolina, as well as Florida, Georgia and Tennessee.

At least 95 people have been killed by the storm, which dumped unprecedented amounts of rain in certain areas of the Southeast, destroying entire towns and neighborhoods, knocking out bridges, causing sinkholes along major highways and scattering debris — from fallen trees to entire trailers and parts of homes — along roadways. In Asheville, N.C., the flooding broke a previous record set in 2004, which had broken a record set in 1916. AccuWeather has estimated the total damage and economic loss from the hurricane at roughly $100 billion, which would make it one of the costliest storms in U.S. history. 

International, national and local organizations have been working to rescue those stranded by the flooding, mudslides and fallen trees and to provide drinking water, food and shelter to the untold number of people displaced by the storm, as well as electricity and cell service to millions left without power in the Southeast.

The Israeli humanitarian relief nonprofit SmartAid, working with a local organization, FP Project, deployed its “Smart Mobile Trailers” to Asheville, N.C., which provide solar power and communication for first responders and local communities.

“Technology has become a basic necessity, akin to food, water, and shelter, when it comes to providing aid to communities affected by disasters,” Shachar Zahavi, founding director of SmartAid, said in a statement. 

Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper and his wife, Nicole, have made an initial donation of $3 million toward Hurricane Helene relief efforts. In a press release, the Teppers said the funds, which will be provided through their foundation, will go toward food banks, local community foundations and other service agencies. 

“This is our home and we are committed to supporting relief efforts throughout the region by providing critical resources and aiding the efforts of our heroic first responders,” the Teppers said. “The impact on our community has been severe, but Carolinians are resilient and courageous, and together, we will rebuild and recover.”

Arthur Blank, the owner of the Atlanta Falcons, has pledged $2 million through his eponymous foundation to World Central Kitchen for the organization’s work in Georgia, “with the potential to serve additional impacted communities” in the future, the foundation said in a statement.

The Glazer Family Foundation, which was established by Malcolm Glazer, the former owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has donated $1 million to “local agencies involved in relief efforts across Tampa Bay, [Fla.],” the NFL team wrote on X.

The Greater Miami Jewish Federation established an emergency relief fund for victims of the storm. The federation has also begun recruiting volunteers to assist in affected areas. 

The Chabad of Asheville and Western North Carolina has been providing supplies and shelter to residents of the region, as well as performing welfare checks on those stranded by the storm, which came days before Rosh Hashanah. (Disclosure: Chabad has been coordinating assistance for this reporter’s parents.) The nearby Chabad of Charlotte, N.C., has begun providing water and other supplies to Asheville as well.

The Charlotte, N.C., affiliate of the Axios news site has identified many of the Western North Carolina organizations performing relief work in and around Asheville, which was one of the hardest-hit areas of the storm.