re: Helene - Recovery Begins...Devastating Flash Flooding in Western NC and Eastern TN

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Forgive me if I'm not willing to take Mrs. Vandersteel's word for some that.

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I didn't want to be the one to say it and start a shitshow and I have no idea who she is or how credible she is but something about the tone of that who tweet smelled of bullshite

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For the people who lived through a bad hurricane (e.g., >90% of the people in your area lost power), how long did it take for the internet to return?

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After Ivan, It knocked out the Crist Power Plant which provided the bulk of the power generation for the Western Florida Panhandle. It was about a week before people truly got power on. Phone/Cable/internet took 2 weeks for us where we live. Power was prioritized, the low voltage carriers followed in behind them.

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After Ivan, It knocked out the Crist Power Plant which provided the bulk of the power generation for the Western Florida Panhandle. It was about a week before people truly got power on. Phone/Cable/internet took 2 weeks for us where we live. Power was prioritized, the low voltage carriers followed in behind them.

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It is going to be hard to find a point of reference or comparison for this one. After most hurricanes you aren't dealing with a complete destruction of infrastructure. The roads aren't washed out and bridges aren't destroyed, limiting movement of heavy equipment needed to clear roads and reset power poles in a rural area with a far-flung population. They've also lost multiple water treatment plants and pumps, as in some being completely destroyed. Then, there is the underground utilities that would have been washed away by mudslides, road washouts, etc. Some places are looking at a complete and total rebuild of the entire infrastructure.

Just got done speaking with a good friend in Fairview NC, just outside of Asheville. His house made it through but houses/ neighborhoods next to him are gone. He and his few neighbors that are left are in fear that those families in those houses didn’t make it out! He’s a pretty easy going, level headed guy, but it’s heartbreaking to hear the despair in his voice. For him to say “you can’t imagine the death and destruction that’s happened” is not something I’ve ever heard come out of his mouth. His wife is a nurse and has been working/ living at the local hospital since it happened. He said power is weeks away, fortunately his well is in good shape and he’s able to get water. He's got a good amount of food, but he’s worried it might not be enough..

He’s a Gainesville kid, his dad was a professor at UF for many years. He never thought in a million years he’d deal with something like this in the state of North Carolina.

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I still doubt she meant LL incorporated over Chimney rock. I was there 2 months ago and have a friend with a cabin there. Nobody refers to the town of Lake Lure.

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Most people that visit the area think of Lake Lure as the lake only but the little downtown near the beach is where the locals go.

Not to mention Lake Lure the town has a population of over 1600 people compared to Chimney Rock who has 140 people. Chimney Rock should not be considered a town just a tourist destination.

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It is going to be hard to find a point of reference or comparison for this one. After most hurricanes you aren't dealing with a complete destruction of infrastructure. The roads aren't washed out and bridges aren't destroyed, limiting movement of heavy equipment needed to clear roads and reset power poles in a rural area with a far-flung population. They've also lost multiple water treatment plants and pumps, as in some being completely destroyed. Then, there is the underground utilities that would have been washed away by mudslides, road washouts, etc. Some places are looking at a complete and total rebuild of the entire infrastructure.

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In 2004 3 named storms came through 3 weeks apart in the WNC and one of those was Ivan. Downtown Biltmore looked the same. I lived in downtown Asheville and we did not have drinking water for over a month as the water facilities were so damage and the sewage system damage sent it all into the French Broad. Roads were washed out, over 400 mudslides in the area taking homes down the mountains and killing people.

The only difference I have seen so far is the area affected around Asheville well into E TN. I also think the flash flooding was worse due to the area impacted.

The sad part is this concern for flooding has been a major political debate for the last 20 years. In 2018 this was an issue with flooding as many experts have provided info the city could not handle a situation like this if they were not going to build a better infastructure after 2004.

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Just got done speaking with a good friend in Fairview NC, just outside of Asheville. His house made it through but houses/ neighborhoods next to him are gone. He and his few neighbors that are left are in fear that those families in those houses didn’t make it out! He’s a pretty easy going, level headed guy, but it’s heartbreaking to hear the despair in his voice. For him to say “you can’t imagine the death and destruction that’s happened” is not something I’ve ever heard come out of his mouth. His wife is a nurse and has been working/ living at the local hospital since it happened. He said power is weeks away, fortunately his well is in good shape and he’s able to get water. He's got a good amount of food, but he’s worried it might not be enough..

He’s a Gainesville kid, his dad was a professor at UF for many years. He never thought in a million years he’d deal with something like this in the state of North Carolina.

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I have a friend I finally heard from this morning. He posted picks of his house and a few neighbors, or what is left of them, That were taken by a mudslide along with the road beliw their houses into the river.

Some of these mountain communities will never recover or exist again.

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He and his few neighbors that are left are in fear that those families in those houses didn’t make it out! He’s a pretty easy going, level headed guy, but it’s heartbreaking to hear the despair in his voice. For him to say “you can’t imagine the death and destruction that’s happened” is not something I’ve ever heard come out of his mouth.

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That's tough to read. Like many here I've been through my fair share of hurricanes, but nothing like this isolation and uncertainty.

Heartbreaking indeed.

God Bless them all.

From my sister, resources in western NC for those in need:
LINK

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No, it's not just those beside the rivers.

People built up on the sides of hills/mountains. And where they built didn't help them : the ground they built on may have slid down the mountain. OR the mountain above them may have slid into their home, taking it and them down the hill,

Before this happened, I heard the warnings for flooding, land slides , rock slides and mud slides. I do not recall any "mudslide" warnings in previous storms.

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I have some distant acquaintances with a second home up there. Private gated community kind of thing, like many others have sprung up in recent years. They've been panicking on social media about "our beautiful mountains," etc. I didn't bother telling them they and people like them are part of the problem.