Like many of you, I’ve been watching what’s happening in Western North Carolina and feeling overwhelmed. There are people that I know who I haven’t heard from. I’ve started to hear stories trickling out about just how bad things are, and I know the overwhelming scale and scope of the destruction is hard to fathom.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how to help. There are many, many ways to do so, and I’d encourage you to seek out verified or vetted opportunities to give and serve. I’d also strongly encourage you to seek out verified news sources, or official information coming from municipal or county social media pages. I don’t have nuanced insight or some hidden opportunity to present to you here: I’ve seen far too often that every disaster leads to scams funded by—and misinformation spread by—well-meaning people who truly are trying to help. I don’t mean to say that there aren’t valid crowdfunding campaigns or charities run by deserving and honorable people. But you really have to be on your guard when your emotions are running so high.

So, please, go to those places. But if you’re a part of this community, I just want to open the comments to find out what you need, know, or want. I will say: I am aware of what happens when you basically open up the phone lines to the internet, and I’d very much like you to treat the comment section here like reporters treat the police scanner. Which is to say: It’s unverified information, and if you have something you want to share, I highly encourage you to give specific details (or supporting links) and not provide hearsay. Conversely, a lot of what I’ve seen over the last few days is people asking specific questions about what’s going on in very specific places, or status reports on people they can’t find. If you have those questions, I’d encourage you to ask them as well. If I’m able to run down any leads or provide context, I’ll do so above the comment section on the web version of this story, or in standalone newsletters or posts. I’ve also been tweeting stuff out as I see it.

I’ll monitor this space as I’m able, but hopefully some of us here will be able to help each other out.