OT: The horror, ohh the horror

[CTyankee]

I come out of semi-retirement to report not on NCST or Duke or UNC women's basketball but on our last weekend with Hurricane Helene.

I got a call from our dear Kibitzer's wife this evening wanting to know if we were ok and yes, all is well.

For those of you interested... the status in the western NC mountains, eastern Tennessee and western SC. is unbelievable. That's not where I am. The storm went west of my location in Pinehurst and circled for about 24 hours around Asheville. 20-30 inches of rain. Heavy winds.

Everything was wiped out. No power. No radios. No TV. No cell service. No wi-fi. No roads. No bridges. No food... No water.

It took a full day after the storm to get any TV reports. Reporters couldn't get near the area without helicopeters or off road vehicles. When reports started coming in, they were unbeliveable and have only gotten worse as reporters had not been able to get into the least populated and remote parts of NC. Now they can by hiking or using 4 wheel off road carts.

It's a mess and will take months if not a year for this area to recover. Most town and city water systems have been contaminated. It's going to be a huge issue.

Please help if you see fit. The Red Cross wants and need everything but a monatery donation is the easiest way to converted into needed supplies. Water is tight and now is the most precious of all commodies in the region.

Daily I hear and see helicopters from Ft Liberty (Bragg) heading to and from the mountains. Daily planes from our local airport in Moore County depart to drop parachutes of water into isolated areas... These people really need help.

I married a beautiful girl who lived thru the aftermath of WW2. I am a veteran of Viet Nam. I've seen my share. I never thought I would see and hear about something so close to me so desperate.

Just sharing my story. If I was 40 years younger I would get my gear and go in my car.

Just sayin'

 

[visitingcock]

Water is so very very important Seems illogical when water is the cause of the problems but drinking water gets scare when flooding occurs

Prayers especially for all the missing people

 

[NEforceUConn]

Amen brother.

 

[Centerstream]

The farmer that we get our hay from is loading his trailer with equipment (bobcats, off road rtv, generators) and heading over to the Asheville area today. He lives outside of Winston-Salem.
His son and one of his friends headed over there Tuesday. They work for Asplundh.
We live in Northern Stokes County and were very lucky. We had a few inches of rain and plenty of wind with no huge gusts. It's the first time we didn't lose power or the internet during a hurricane or tropical storm. I did have to cancel a medical appointment in Winston-Salem last Friday due to the storm. I was shocked that the office was open. The storm effects had moved out by mid afternoon on Friday.
Again, we, and the farm critters, were very lucky.

 

[GoUconn7961]

So glad you're ok. I've been watching the video and it truly is unbelievable. I've made donations to the Red Cross and the Humane Society who is out there looking for stranded animals.

 

[Bigboote]

My niece moved from Asheville a few years ago. I am SO glad she’s not there now.

 

[ThisJustIn]

Reinforcing the suggestion to donate directly (Unfortunately, the Red Cross has had some questionable leadership). How to help: Learn about ways to support Hurricane Helene victims, how to donate

 

[CTyankee]

We have friends who live outside of Weaverville, pop 4500, west of Asheville who were missing for 4 days... They couldn't find a way out of their home. No power, no wi-fi, no cell service, no roads. When they were finally able to get out, they had less than a day's supply of water and were running low on gasoline.

 

[TRuconnfan]

I am in Greenville SC, we were hit pretty bad here but obviously nothing like NC. Trees and power lines down everywhere and a lot of the grid wiped out. Took us 5 days to get power back and many people and businesses are still out. It was crazy driving around all that ( we had to) and seeing so much property damaged ( ours is fine). For days people struggled to get ice, gas and food. Better now but still some stores are closed or short of supplies. Hardly anyone has internet and there isnt any word when that will be back. Cell phones have been spotty, for days calls would drop and could barely get online. That is a tad better now but we still go from no bars to barely 1.

Back to western NC, our favorite little town Chimney Rock was completely wiped out and gone, and more importantly I have no idea if an acquaintance of mine is ok as she lived near. At the very least if she is physically ok her shop is gone as is her other job managing rentals there. Just hoping at some point she can get to internet access and post on her site letting us all know she is ok.

Thank you to everyone who donated to help.