Cory Mills in Carolinas to drop supplies, conduct wellness checks in areas devastated by Helene

Cory Mills in helicopters over Hurricane Helene-struck region. Image via X.

U.S. Rep. Cory Mills has led rescue missions in Afghanistan and in Haiti. Now, he’s delivering aid and services to communities devastated by Hurricane Helene in North and South Carolina.

The New Smyrna Beach Republican announced he was partnering with Mercury One to bring helicopters with supplies to North Carolina. Mills said he has also worked with conservative social media influencer Benny Johnson on the effort.

He is stationed in South Carolina, largely because of conditions in the most heavily impacted regions.

“I’m based in Greenville, South Carolina, to get in supplies,” he told Florida Politics. Mills added that his team is using helicopters “to supply areas that are landlocked and have no access in or out. We are also working with teams for search and rescue to conduct welfare checks, as well as, try to land/hoist people to safety. Both helicopters have hoist capabilities.”

He said that on Monday, his teams were able to deliver around 3,000 to 4,000 pounds of supplies, including food, water, diapers, wipes and nonperishable goods. He also dropped off Starlink systems in areas with no regular communication connectivity available.

He will head back into Asheville and Burnsville on Tuesday. In a video update before the flight, he said his team identified five specific locations in that region in need of help. He was focused on specific individuals, including elderly couples stranded by the storm and one family with an 8-year-old child.

“What we’re going to look at is areas that are hard to get to that we can utilize hoist operations,” he said.

It’s not the first time Mills has made headlines flying into areas to help Americans in harm’s way. Before his election to Congress, Mills earned national attention for civilian-led rescues of Americans in Afghanistan after the U.S. military withdrawal there.

And as the Haitian government was destabilized by gang violence earlier this year, he conducted the evacuation of several Americans from the island nation, including author-philanthropist Mitch Albom.

In the current situation, he has also reported from the air on the level of devastation from the hurricane as it hit mountain communities not accustomed to hurricane force winds.

“The number of missing reported, and unconfirmed reports of fatalities in NC, is staggering,” he posted on X. “Happy to get out our first drop of supplies to Asheville, NC to help those in need. Tomorrow will drop more supplies and assist with rescues and checks.”

Quick update: DAY 1 Wrap-up

Tomorrow we will drop Starlink systems to areas that’s been on “SOS” or has no connectivity. We will go out first thing in the morning to assist in search and rescue in hardest hit areas as we await our fix wing asset with additional supplies to land… pic.twitter.com/OI5SOwvyLR

— Cory Mills (@CoryMillsFL) October 1, 2024

Quick Update: Day 2

Today we will focus on resupply to Poplar and Burnsville, NC. Yesterday we resupplied Asheville with approx 3000-4000lbs of supplies. We will focus on hoist operations and welfare checks to the areas completely cutoff and most impacted by the storm. pic.twitter.com/cogW7rwmCG

— Cory Mills (@CoryMillsFL) October 1, 2024