At least 50 campgrounds severely damaged by Hurricane Helene

According to David Basler, chief strategy officer for OHI, a trade association representing private RV parks and campgrounds in the U.S. and Canada, at least 50 campgrounds and RV parks — probably even more — were severely damaged or even wiped out by Hurricane Helene.

“Well, the latest update that I have so far is that we’ve heard from more than 50 campgrounds from across the five (impacted) states,” Basler told Sherman Goldenberg, writing in Woodall’s Campground Management.

“The five states I’m talking about here are Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, obviously – primarily RV parks that have sustained what I would describe as severe damage and major damage.

“In at least four cases that we know of the campground is completely gone, and there’ll be an extensive rebuilding over the course of the next few months, multiple months probably in some cases.”

Hurricane Helene’s damage tally thus far according to NBC News:

• At least 223 people have died and hundreds are still unaccounted for in the destruction wrought by Helene since it made landfall in Florida on Sept. 26.
• More than a week later, some residents and communities remain isolated, hundreds of thousands are without power, and spotty service has made communication difficult.

Want to help?

If you would like to help donate to survivors of Helene, several organizations, including the Red Cross and National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, are seeking assistance from the public. But be careful: FBI Atlanta has warned the public of disaster scams, saying there have been “reports of scammers claiming to work for contractors and insurance companies targeting Hurricane Helene recovery efforts.”

Read the full interview with Basler at Woodall’s Campground Management.

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