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Tropical Major Hurricane Helene

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A little surreal to think this is the worst hurricane disaster since Katrina (and one of the all time performers for carrying strong winds inland), and the remnants of the eastern eye wall passed directly over my house. Why can’t this type of jackpotting ever happen for a snowstorm here??? I’m on day 7 of no power and a neighbor called today and was told hopefully restored by Tuesday🥴
 
<NBC NEWS> The death toll from Hurricane Helene continues to climb as search and rescue teams race to find survivors and recover bodies before they decompose. As of now, at least 215 people have died, with more than half of those deaths occurring in North Carolina, where entire communities were destroyed by floodwaters. Hundreds of people are still missing, and officials have reported difficulties in identifying some of the dead.
 
I want to help because WNC is like a second home to me. I’m exhausted myself and can only imagine what those folks must be feeling. The mountains have always been the place where I know I can go spend a few days off grid and come back home decompressed. I’m afraid what it’s going to look and feel like when I do head back up the mountain. Not sure it will ever be the same and that’s hard to think about.
 
Jimmy Hypocracy said:
I want to help because WNC is like a second home to me. I’m exhausted myself and can only imagine what those folks must be feeling. The mountains have always been the place where I know I can go spend a few days off grid and come back home decompressed. I’m afraid what it’s going to look and feel like when I do head back up the mountain. Not sure it will ever be the same and that’s hard to think about.
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You know that’s been one the toughest things to see this on a personal level. I’m seeing areas devastated that my parents use to take me on vacations growing up and that I’ve taken my children. I can’t help but think how many of those great campsites that I spent so much time with my Dad as a child and as much time with my own boys are still gonna be around. Also the people that have lost everything are some of the most friendly folks you’ll ever come across.
 
Guess I was correct in my thinking of why this was so bad in the mountains. From WRAL met Aimee Wilmoth.

Some important context with this. When you get 20" at the beach, the water can spread out easier...it's nice and flat. When you get that kind of rain in the mountains, it is funneled into the lower valleys and can't spread out the way it can along the coast. So, that's why we saw way more devastation with the rain in the mountains compared to the coast.
 
Apparently Asheville's backup water line went down too during the storm so 70 percent of the city is without water until roads transmission and other stuff can be built. I fear this will be weeks and businesses downtown will close.
 
BullCityWx said:
It almost feel like there’s two different sorts of damage - Hurricane damage through Augusta and the upstate then the flood damage into the foothills and mountains.

I can only imagine this complicates recovery greatly.
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NC suffered high winds as evidenced by the tree damage.
 
DON'T SPREAD MISINFORMATION!!! From the Red Cross...
"Misinformation can spread quickly after a disaster, causing confusion and distrust within communities struggling to recover. Unfortunately, we’re seeing this during our response to Hurricane Helene.
Sharing rumors online without first vetting the source and verifying facts ultimately hurts people — people who have just lost their homes, neighborhoods, and, in some cases, loved ones. They are already unsure where to turn for help, and spreading misinformation only adds to that uncertainty. It also disrupts our ability to deliver critical aid and affects the disaster workers who have put their own lives on hold to assist those in need."
 
FEMA

Please share with people affected by Helene. Here’s where to apply for assistance. This includes help with expenses right after the disaster.

Home | disasterassistance.gov

www.disasterassistance.gov www.disasterassistance.gov

There’s a list of states that expands into counties - that’s how to find out which counties have which FEMA programs.

FEMA does individual cash assistance and hotels (and more) after a disaster. That’s the Individual Assistance Program. It’s always worth applying. Apply online ASAP then go to a center later for more complicated FEMA programs. Location info for the centers is also online.

Note there are places on the site where the APPLY button leads to a dead end. The home page works though.

Folks should check if their state is doing disaster unemployment. Also some states will reload their residents’ SNAP benefits since some people lost everything.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
severestorm said:
Apparently Asheville's backup water line went down too during the storm so 70 percent of the city is without water until roads transmission and other stuff can be built. I fear this will be weeks and businesses downtown will close.
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Yes Ashevilles main water supply line has be destroyed. Also people may not realize that the road going up to the water lines and the water supply was washed out. Not only are they going to have to rebuild the whole water system basically but they are having to rebuild the road just to get up there. Buncombe county is in a bad bad way... Heck WNC is in a bad bad way. A lot of communities are still cutoff from the main roads.
 
Jimmy Hypocracy said:
I want to help because WNC is like a second home to me. I’m exhausted myself and can only imagine what those folks must be feeling. The mountains have always been the place where I know I can go spend a few days off grid and come back home decompressed. I’m afraid what it’s going to look and feel like when I do head back up the mountain. Not sure it will ever be the same and that’s hard to think about.
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People will rebuild but it's going to take years.
 
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