In the area of Eastern Tennessee and Western North Carolina, things are really bad in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene winds and rain. The massive flooding in the entire SE region has created multiple crisis points in NC, TN, GA, SC, AL and Virginia.
In Western North Carolina, eastbound Interstate 40 is gone. I-40 washed away by massive amounts of water through Pigeon River, near the Tennessee state line. {STORY HERE} Initially, state officials denied the collapse because it was impossible for anyone from the state to get to the area to confirm it. They later said, “oh, shit- it’s real”… and now admit it will take a long time for repairs.
In northern East Tennessee the Interstate 26 bridge has collapsed near Erwin. I-26 is closed eastbound at mile marker 37 and closed westbound at mile marker 43. {STORY HERE} Again, this is another closure that is likely to take a long time for repairs.
The region where Tennesse and North Carolina come together at the base of the Appalachian Mountain range has been severely damaged. Transit into the area will be impeded for a substantial amount of time. Rivers and streams throughout the area are far beyond their capacity and only now starting to recede.
I know we have a lot of Treepers in this area. Check in if you are in any of the affected areas and let us know your condition. There is going to be a significant amount of time delay in getting resources moved into the area to assist, and the national MSM do not seem to be recognizing the issues.
UNICOI COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) — Several state routes and an area of Interstate 26 in Northeast Tennessee are closed on Friday due to downed trees and flooding, according to the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT).
TDOT spokesperson Mark Nagi said I-26 is closed both ways around Exit 40. The interstate is closed eastbound at mile marker 37 and closed westbound at mile marker 43.
Approximately 12,000 vehicles per day use the I-26 bridges located at mile marker 39.6, according to Nagi. (read more)
NEWPORT, Tenn. (WSMV/WBIR) – Interstate 40 Eastbound is closed to all traffic at Mile Marker 432 in Cocke County due to catastrophic flooding in Tennessee and North Carolina, according to the Tennessee Department of Transportation.
Part of I-40 going into North Carolina has washed away.
“This is a serious and life threating situation. DO NOT TRAVEL TO NORTH CAROLINA,” NWS Morristown said in a tweet.
Spokesman Mark Nagi shared several videos of the Pigeon River flooding onto I-40 in Cocke County. (read more)
ATLANTA, Sept 28 (Reuters) – Authorities across a wide swath of the southeastern United States faced the daunting task on Saturday of cleaning up from Hurricane Helene, one of the most powerful to hit the country, as the death toll continued to rise.
At least 43 deaths were reported by late on Friday, and officials feared still more bodies would be discovered across several states.
Helene, downgraded late on Friday to a post-tropical cyclone, continued to produce heavy rains across several states, sparking life-threatening flooding that threatened to create dam failures that could inundate entire towns.
Police and firefighters carried out thousands of water rescues throughout the affected states on Friday.
More than 50 people were rescued from the roof of a hospital in Unicoi County, Tennessee, about 120 miles (200 km) northeast of Knoxville, state officials said, after floodwaters swamped the rural community.
Rising waters from the Nolichucky River prevented ambulances and emergency vehicles from evacuating patients and others there, the Unicoi County Emergency Management Agency said on social media. Emergency crews in boats and helicopters were conducting rescues. (read more)
Everyone check in and let us know that all is ok, if not – whether you need help.
God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear,
Even though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
Though its waters roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah
Psalm 46:1-3
For all who are experiencing devastation and heartache:
May God bless you and strengthen you. May God put His arms around you, lift you up and carry you through the coming weeks and months of recovery. May the eyes of your heart be opened to the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the saving grace available to each of us in this life as well as the next.
May God bless each and every one of you and provide you all with strengthened faith, courage and wisdom in ever increasing amounts. Millions of people are praying for you and will seek to aid in your recovery!
Amen…amen.
Great posts. 🫵✝️🫵
Beautiful, Bruce.
My brother lives in the center of the fubar zone and I haven’t been able to get in touch with him yet. My calls go straight to voicemail as if communications are down. I spent the week before last wading shin deep inside my home at the NC coast but I’m loading my work van and heading west as soon as I hear something.
Check: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hendersonville/
There is no power or cell. No gas or ATM’s.
Thanks. My sister lives outside of Asheville. I think Hendersonville is in that area also. I have not been able to phone her for several days. Nor can I contact my brother near Charlotte.
can’t get through to bakersville, mitchell county either.
In the Charlotte region. Many power outages but no major issues other than potential flooding in the Mountain Lake area. So it is likely your brother is ok.
Friend from Hendersonville has been in Pigeon Forge and now concerned how she will get back home with all the roads out.
God speed Ken.
my bro lives in hickory, all of the internet and cell towers and the streetlights are gone, all the power is out, and my sis in law lost her house,,,,please be careful, the nolichucky dam is going to go, i40 and i26 are totally washed out, all roads gone in the western part of the state are gone, totally gone
Likewise my nephew and grand nephew are in the FUBAR area and no communication with them. Praying they are ok . Praying for everyone there.
Please review Reed Timmer Extreme Meteorologist’s Facebook posts. He’s giving lots of road info on NC. I believe he resides in either NC or SC. Both his mom and sister just lost their homes. He knows the area, well.
His comments
ALL ROADS IN WESTERN NC SHOULD BE CONSIDERED CLOSED! This is nuts! Over 500 road closures in western NC alone!
All roads in and out of Asheville, NC are still closed! It sounds like Asheville is still only accessible by air unless you head up from I26, and even then you will encounter closures before the city. This is an absolute mega disaster for western NC on the order of Hurricane Katrina.
Click on this link for his NC map of road info in NC.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/WEKgCYY381uoKYdA/
Deleted
-Deleted by whom? – Reed Timmer or Le Zuck’?
By Me!
Wrong thread
-Ah, gotcha… – had my wires crossed there, I think…
Cell service is very sketchy here right now and power is out in a lot of places. Xfinity internet is down too in a lot of areas.
Eastbound 40 is closed. You may not be able to get to TN unless you go up through KY and take 75 South to Knoxville then loop back on state rt 11 or 70 through Jefferson Co.
Info is still spotty right now.
Sister lives in Belton, SC and we have not been able to speak to her. My niece lives in Anderson, SC and a large tree fell on her csr, totaling it. Prayers for all affected by this storm.
-Belton community events and information Facebook group – Maybe you can post messages/find info or scrape local contact details from here:…
https://www.facebook.com/groups/568432870553539
…- Good luck and Godspeed, DJT.
Safe travels, my friend.
Hi Ken! My brother (also named Ken) lives in Panama City, FL and it just brushed by him.
Thank Goodness, as they were still recovering from Michael!
🙏❤️
Rural Aiken, SC. County under night time curfew. Electric provider described system damage as “castastrophic” with almost 100% of customers w/o power. We have 2 trees on roof with a dozen more on the ground. Inspection revealed minimal damage to roof, fortunately. We are prepared with plenty of food, water, and fuel for
genset. Now offering hot coffee and showers for neighbors in need.
Doing the same in Newberry county. Twister hit our road power poles snapped off. At the bottom of the list for repair. House wired into generator. Only 2 houses on road able to run wells. Shower and fill jugs of water invitation has been offered to our neighbors.
Thank you to Sundance for this useful forum, again, and all who have contributed useful information.
In St. Louis I am fortunate to be out of harm’s way, I comfortably have all normal utilities and amenities. Reading these comments made me realize that it is the same type of disparity as families with a loved one deployed versus families with no connection to the military.
You are all in my prayers and I will make a financial contribution. 🙏🏻
Thanks.
Agreed. Sam’s Purse is one of the few charities that actually distributes relief supplies. Ryan Hall YT weather storm chaser has an interconnected team throughout the SE that distribute generators, tools to provide a means of locals to begin to address storm damage. They also provide general relief supplies. With each tornado/hurricane event they raise severl hundred thousands through sale of their merchandise for these relief efforts. Ryan is a Christian guy who through his 100% charitable relief has grown his operation hugely. He’s from south central Kentucky and has been on the spot with the devastaging floods/tornadoes here in TN. https://www.youtube.com/@RyanHallYall
Thank you for your prior hurricane posts and also for posting this, nobody here expected it to get as bad as it did. But at least for Erwin we seem to be handling it well so far.
Where is the FED?
Who..?
Helping the ILLEGALS invade our Country. Where is Potato Head BITEME?
compensating its owners?
(the Goldman Sachs, Rockefellers, Lehmans and Kuhn Loebs of New York; the Rothschilds of Paris and London; the Warburgs of Hamburg; the Lazards of Paris; and the Israel Moses Seifs of Rome.
https://www.bing.com/search?q=The+owners+of+the+Federal+Reserve+Bank+of+the+United+States+are+the+Goldman+Sachs,+Rockefellers,+Lehmans+and+Kuhn+Loebs+of+New+York;+the+Rothschilds+of+Paris+and+London;+the+Warburgs+of+Hamburg;+the+Lazards+of+Paris;+and+the+Israel+Moses+Seifs+of+Rome.++http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-federal-reserve-cartel-the-eight-families/25080&form=APMCS1&PC=APMC)
They don’t care about Appalachia.
They don’t care about Appalachia.
They didn’t care about Florida either. Not a sign of FEMA anywhere. And of course no statements issued from the WH. Cause ain’t nobody home. The Administration is MIA. Nobody in the media commenting on this.
Do we have a FED?
Hoping for a speedy recovery for the Treepers in the area.
The sense of community is real on this site. Also out of personal experience I hope someone never gets 20 arbitrary troll down votes across their posts or otherwise you are pretty much done on this Community with your comments being “Approved for moderation” forever… (read: banned)
Other than that bit the support in the community is great.
Amazon has sent relief supplies via their Knoxville Warehouse Complex with more supplies coming into major SE whse hubs for distribution to the afflicted area. The devastation of failed dams, massive flooding and uprooted trees are blocking may of the roads into the worst stricken areas making relief efforts difficult…at least that’s what’s happening here in eastern TN into NC.
Western NC here. My rain gauge showed 13″ of rain from Wednesday night to Friday night. Our town was largely spared, with minimal inconveniences. Flooding left a bunch of debris, but the rivers are back in their banks as of this morning. No cell and internet service, which is causing major interruptions as to how we live our lives now. The grocery stores in town can only accept cash. If a business has satellite internet, they can process electronic payment, but those that don’t have to do business the old fashioned way…cash. No idea if ATMs are functional.
Surrounding towns got hit bad. Some without power, some were cut off completely yesterday. I saw a convoy of utility trucks heading out this morning. God bless them. Many small businesses were closed yesterday, since they had no internet/cell service.
We have Star Link, so we can text and have internet access. Yesterday was a normal work day for my wife and I. We also still have a landline, so we aren’t cut off. For others communication has ground to a halt. My car was in the shop and the mechanic had no way of contacting me, so I stopped by to check on the progress. A friend’s wife is in California and she hadn’t heard from him since Wednesday night. Without cell or internet, she had no way of checking on him.
The interruption in communication is what has made the biggest impression on me. If a bridge is out, maybe you can go downstream and find another way to cross, but if you can’t call, text, or e-mail, you really don’t have options. Life if fragile. My friend is 75. What if he fell and needed help? (He’s okay, btw.) We’ve come to rely on technology that in reality is quite unreliable.
God bless those who are affected by this storm and those who are stepping up to relieve their distress.
The moral of this story is to keep your landline! They will still be working when the power goes out. If you don’t have one you can get one installed.
As a person who worked 35 years in the landline business, yes they are usually reliable…BUT…if the office housing the landline equipment loses power, they have backup diesel generators and then a bank of batteries…or at least the offices did in 2013. If they run out of diesel fuel, the batteries kick in but don’t last very long before they need to be taken offline. The maintenance routines on the power plant equipment were being scaled back. When I retired in 2013, the “sunset” date for traditional landline systems was 2025.
If the office gets flooded, there’s a long drying out process of the digital equipment and then power up and troubleshooting. The push to get people off of the old landline equipment and into VOIP/internet based phone service is big.
And you have to have an old phone that doesn’t need power to run; runs only off the power the phone company has in its lines. I revere my old red rotary phone. (Except the power company now has a phone menu with NO option for non-touch tone phones . . .)
My son and granddaughter live in Sylva and Franklin. It was his weekend for visitation and I begged them to come to our house in Middle Tennessee. We can not get in touch with her mom in Franklin. My son is thinking of trying to go home on Monday….I am thinking that’s probably a bad move. Do you any idea about the Franklin area? I’m not getting any info on the situation. Thanks.
We are in Franklin. No cell service, no internet right now, so it’s difficult for anyone to communicate. Some people are gathering at the public library to catch wifi and are able to text or e-mail, but I’m not sure if they are able to do wifi calling from there.
Most stores still can only do cash transactions. I’m not sure if any ATMs are working. You can get to Franklin, but you may have to take a roundabout route. Asheville is trashed and I’m not sure about any traffic through there. Coming up from Georgia seems to be reliable and north GA has cell service.
Sylva had some flooding, and some roads were impassable. The rivers have receded quickly and all seem to have returned to their banks yesterday, but there is still a lot of standing water. Again, I’m not sure about Asheville.
Thank you so much for responding. Yeah I-40 is out on the TN/NC line and there was a landslide at Old Fort east of Black Mountain. We lived in Otto until 2010. Now I have a little 8 year old granddaughter and a son who still live there. Thankfully they are with as of now, but he wants to go back home tomorrow.
Born in the hills of TN south of Nashville near the AL border I am so saddened to see these images. Lots of family down there though I’m the black sheep and out of touch, I hope they are alright.
Ridge runners reach for their toolboxes and come to each other’s aid rather than wait for some outsiders.
“Ridge runners reach for their toolboxes and come to each other’s aid rather than wait for some outsiders…”…
….as do farmers in Montana, North Dakota, Colorado, and Oregon…. I could tell dozens of stories but don’t have time because I am involved in a significant seasonal task involving tools and toolboxes–in my front yard….
East Texas. We do the same.
👍✝️👍
Love your stories Sharon.
And your book. 😊
👍🙏❤️🇺🇲
God bless these people. Add in the likely damage to a good part of the southeast from the engineered or aided HELENE and extreme likelihood of longshoreman’s strike (mostly due to AI) and an absolute mess .., add in the impact to our most important election ever. God Bless them first and to us all.
Well, the obvious way to fix these incredible disasters, according to most Congressional Republicans, is to quickly send another $100 Billion to Ukraine and Israel!
It is the Democrats, particularly Biden/Harris, who want to keep sending money to Ukraine. They are trying to bankrupt this country over the borders of other countries while letting our southern border remain wide open to any illegals who want to come here. Could the reason Biden is so desperately trying to send money to Ukraine be that Zelensky is blackmailing him because of the millions paid to Hunter, with 10% going to the Big Guy?
Absolutely, Virginia Lady! 😉
And why Zelensky is terrified if Trump winning. He has nothing to hold iver Trump.
No more 💰
Please, especially in the South, remember it’s the Uniparty!
Republicans ( think “Georgia”) are complicit in all of this.
Redfield admits in Newsweek article that RFK, jr is right –
Donald Trump Has a Plan to Make America’s Children Healthy Again. It’s a Good One
By Robert Redfield
director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2018 to 2021
“Kennedy is right: All three of the principal health agencies suffer from agency capture.
“A large portion of the FDA’s budget is provided by pharmaceutical companies.
“NIH is cozy with biomedical and pharmaceutical companies and its scientists are allowed to collect royalties on drugs NIH licenses to pharma.
“And as the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), I know the agency can be influenced by special interest groups.”
https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-has-plan-make-americas-children-healthy-again-its-good-one-opinion-1957026
https://mercychefs.com/
Mercy Chefs is a faith-based, non-profit disaster relief organization which provides restaurant-quality meals to victims, volunteers and first responders in national emergencies and natural disasters. Their mobile kitchens are self-sustaining, able to run in areas without power, and capable of purifying their own water. Mercy Chefs is often one of the first organizations to arrive following a major weather event and is capable of providing 15,000 meals daily to meet the needs of the devastated community.
Mercy Chefs’ Nashville Community Kitchen team responded immediately to the flooding in Middle Tennessee — bringing hot meals to the flood zone — and is expanding with mobile kitchen(s) and other on-the-ground resources to support shelters in the surrounding areas.
Donations can be made online, or mailed to 711 Washington Street, Portsmouth, VA 23704.
You can also follow Mercy Chef’s social media (@MercyChefs) for more updates on their disaster relief efforts.
Yes, they’ve done heroic work feeding the rescued as well as the rescuers here in TN for the last devastating tornadoes AND the Waverly flood.
I will mail a donation. Thanks!
Three of my sisters live in Western NC, while I reside in SE FL. One asked “why is all of this increasingly catastrophic weather occurring? ”
I suggested she do some research on the actions of our Uncle Sam, who unfailingly has weaponized everything from banking to weather.
I sent her the following.
1966 NASA Document Reveals Goal of Engineered “Climate Modification”
Two Primary Documents Featured in this Story
“Present and Future Plans of Federal Agencies in Weather-Climate Modification”
This set of documents from 1966 reveals a network of government agencies in perpetual and secret collaboration and the military to Modify the Global climate. Created by the elitist National Academy of Sciences – decades of an inter-agency culture of secrecy explains why the issue of covert aerosol Geoengineering (chemtrails) is a taboo topic to be degraded to the status of “conspiracy theory” by a matrix of complicit bureaucrats at every opportunity. This is why the FAA, NOAA, NASA and your local TV “meteorologist” refuse to employ scientific observation when asked to comment on an unusual sky filled with bizarre aircraft spraying.
“The gradually accumulating evidence of positive results from efforts at weather modification led the Committee on Atmospheric Sciences of the National Academy of Sciences, in November 1963, to appoint a Panel on Weather and Climate Modification “to undertake a deliberate and thoughtful review of the present status and activities in this field and of its potential and limitations for the future.” – Page 6.
“The Evolution of a Weather Modification R&D program Into a Military Weapons System”…
https://eclinik.net/1966-nasa-document-reveals-goal-of-engineered-climate-modification/
So in agreement with you . I have long suspected Weather Warfare used to produce droughts, floods, tornado, now the “perfect” hurricane. Just in time to stop the vote. Predicted a while back that they would target FL again but they really created a dozy this time….. They really hate us.
Prayers for all that are dealing with this devastation ….One day at a time , one bite at time, is how you eat this elephant. Vote and look for better days to come.
It seems they are targeting NC and TN. Voter fraud is in the ascendancy.
I totally concur especially with your closing paragraph. One of the hardest lessons for me as I age is “one thing at a time”. I find that ultimately life is a lesson in humility. God is in the driver’s seat and each success is a gift from the Almighty.
AKA as HAARP.
I recently ran across Real Fishing Life’s youtube channel. He posts and shows as storm’s move along how trillion watt lasers on the ground and satellite are controll the direction of it.
Very scary stuff and beyond incomprehensible to grasp any human could create and participate in allowing these disasters to inflict heartbreaking damage to humans, wildlife, infrastructure etc..
Below is a link to a video he did yesterday where he shows the lasers as they occur and his claim that Helene was manmade.
Sad update from your newly discovered channel. His mom’s house is ruined
_
Watch “We lost everything, this is the worst flood I have ever seen in my life…” on YouTube
Beyond heartbreaking.
Interesting how the storm went up a predominantly Republican corridor, and the northwestern straight edge side of the storm stopped short of some Democrat strongholds.
Wow! What destruction produced by this creation of God.
Throw in a possible east coast Longshore strike and things look bleak.
Small compared to the totality of this disaster but expect the freight systems to be a mess for weeks.
I 40 is a major east / west freight avenue and add I 26 means wide detours and delays. Fedex, UPS and others will take longer to deliver your internet orders.
One alternate to I 40 is I81 North and then I77 South back to I40
Another alternate is I20 into Atlanta and North on I85 or I95
Expect these alternates to experience heavier than normal traffic and delays backups galore.
Just found on another site!!!!!
“The leadership here is very poor.” is the key sentence here. North Carolina is such a battleground state that the leadership is simply corruption in a handcart.
Ironically this could end up being a very bad “October Surprise” for the incumbents if they don’t get on helping out their constituents and something Trump can hammer them on hard on the lead up to election.
More worried about destroying wonderful Mark Robinson.
I am, too, Katy. Malicious. But that’s what RINOs and Dems do.
LIVE from YouTube
Watch “Buncombe County officials update on Helene aftermath” on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/live/Wzk6kVCfBds?si=NCCKB11Cg8Fouj3a
Also, Biddie…
TRAVEL INFORMATION FROM NC
Nonessential driving is prohibited.
https://drivenc.gov/
So we just moved to eastern TN from east central florida and aside from Charley, this was the strongest storm I went through in the last 30 years (Francis was bad but after Charley I left the area).
I’m about 15 mins north of Morristown and had gusts to 60 and sustained of 40-45. Several trees in the area down, we lost power for about 13 hours. Big difference is it wasn’t 95 degrees after the storm with 100% humidity, it was amazingly pleasant outside. One neighbor lost two trees and one has some roof damage they are tarping up.
All the years of prepping in florida to not have anything happen, we get ready and had everything in place. Was a good practice run for what may come this next season in the country.
I’m in Liberty, SC not too far from Clemson University. Most main roads were impassable due to number of trees and power poles down. Power will be out for up to 2 weeks. A few grocery stores open, cash only. Gas stations running out of gas and mile long lines. 2 massive trees down, but no damage to house. Have Generac generator. Helping my neighbors today. Powering up their electronics and offered washer and dryer for laundry. Took your hurricane prep to heart so thank you Sundance! Unfortunately, many not prepared. Thanking the good Lord and paying it forward!
My husband is in Clemson today. There is an annual industry meeting at Clemson University every year so he is in town for that. But of course he came a day early to attend the game (he is a Clemson grad).
. Come hell or high water, football is on.
Sorry you are going through this.
Before/After photos standing on I-40 looking down at US 74 with the Blue Ridge Parkway Bridge in the distance, Ashville NC
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/UbJsMNGeAcZ5f5X8/
Picture is worth a thousand words.
Wow!
I’ve always wanted to build an amphibious vehicle or few . . .
That would be nifty. Jeff Piotrowski, a long-time veteran storm chaser, ‘canes and particular tornados, bought a Telso Cyber Truck for chasing. He isn’t saying too much about it, but he did say and show how he can push a button and the car frame raises up about 18 inches!
Tucker did a show using a CyberTruck Elon gave him to test it out with loggers in Maine. Fun show to see that! the loggers highly rated it, except for the battery issue.
Google Water Car. Fun photos I’d post but I can’t seem to post photos here. Why not?
We’re on the edge of the Fubar Zone in NE Georgia. The worst of it missed us, thank Goodness but we were without power for 17 hours. Neighbors with trees down on lines we got lucky. Back-up generator kicked in and we sat back and watched the storm.
Bad all over around here but Hart EMC was on the ball.
God bless the Linemen and clean up crews. Keep them safe.
My heart gots out to everyone affected. I pray for everyone’s safety and recovery.
What’s crazy is that we almost moved to Eastern TN this summer. Elizabethton was one of the towns we considered. My husband is from SC and we lived in the Carolinas for 20 years before moving farther west.
My husband had a job offer and desperately wanted to go. I don’t like where we live now so he was flummoxed when I said I didn’t want to move. I was adamant. We argued about it for months. He finally gave up when he realized he couldn’t talk me into it.
Now I see that my stubbornness may have been Providence.
To all who live in the area, stay strong. We have got your backs.
I have found a good site for updates on information in affected areas in Tn. Very moving videos from drone footage. Website is: Knoxville News Sentinel. Also, to report missing loved ones in Tennessee: 1- 800- TBI -FIND.
I’m in rural north Greenville, SC about 35 miles from Hendersonville, NC. We have no power, Internet or cell. Made our way in to Greenville to get phone service. I went through Hugo and the amount of downed trees and power lines from Helene brings back memories.
My main concern is that I can’t contact my 89 year old mother and 82 year old stepdad. They are in Lake Toxaway, NC about 1 1/2 hours away. Sheriff’s dept systems are down and fire department gives a busy signal. Can’t call for a wellness check.
Prayers appreciated.
🙏prayers for your Mom and Stepdad..🙏🙏🙏🙏
🙏✝️🙏
Dunno if this is any help Nationalboard2001, or if you have these contacts already, and also I’m nosing around on the interwebs here from ~5000 miles away in the UK anyways, but here’s the community website for Lake Toxaway:…
https://laketoxawaycommunity.net
…And also a Facebook group for Brevard, which looks to be about ~10 miles up US-64 to the NE:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/WeAreBrevardNC
…- Maybe you can post messages there or find somebody who can go birdog for you and put you in direct contact with your Mom and Stepdad, or even if the internet’s out on their end, you could maybe get landline contacts fom the above (eg: Lake Toxaway HOA Office, from the first link, is (828) 966-9453 [email protected]). Also here’s a link to a random article about community support groups at the Transylvania Times website (I can’t access it myself, apparently for legal reasons, being how I’m in Europe, but maybe there’s something there you can use, or else use the link to navigate elsewhere on their website)
…- Hoping any of this helps, and wishing you Godbless…
…- Ooops – Forgot the Transylvania Times link:
https://www.transylvaniatimes.com/community/support-group-meetings-in-transylvania-county/article_4e7605ef-69f3-51d9-aa15-65cff0f58769.html
I travel through that area going to my Dad’s in Greensboro, NC. The mountains through there are treacherous in normal weather but with this situation I can only imagine how dangerous they are! Prayers for those stranded! The feds and state governor of NC are not doing their jobs adequately!
Wild aerial view footage shows the extensive flooding in Sarasota following Hurricane Helene.
The couple hundred billion dollars given to Ukraine could have came in very handy for this.
RAYCIST!
That’s what really pisses me off that the Uniparty gave all that money to Z to laundry back to our crooks! We need that money!!!
.
Augusta GA is not doing so great; electricity is out, Ft. Gordon aka Eisenhower is largely closed. Mayor has declared state of emergency. I may be getting impromptu visitors who headed south into Florida…
.
That stretch of I40 right at the TN/NC border has had rock fall, etc troubles since it was constructed maybe 40+ years ago. I26, the old US23, same situation. It’s newer as an interstate. Maybe 20 years or so. Both very scenic, but shear cliffs right up from road, the other side, steep down. I guess long long time ago they were old mountain paths, maybe Indian paths, then twisty 2 lane mountain roads, then had to cut/blast mountains back to get big interstate in there.
The maps showed the storm would bump up against mountains and drop everything. Hurricane Camille in 1969 did similar to VA. I think 28 inches rain some places. Rates like 4-5 inches an hour I think.
I’m in Erwin.
Our power didn’t go out until right before the storm properly ending around 11ish am yesterday. It was bad but I didn’t realize how bad it was until a friend of mine showed me pictures of the hospital and underpass underwater and ambulances floating around. They had to fly in choppers to evacuate the staff/patients. They’ll probably not be a hospital there after this. We’ve had multiple smaller bridges collapse all around the tri-city area. I’m near I-40 and I’m seeing much higher volumes of traffic through town now. If you’re going to travel through Erwin to get anywhere expect traffic to be bad for the foreseeable future. If you want to avoid using the interstate the old Johnson City Highway or the Sciota way into Elizabethon or Hampton will probably be your best bet but there’s probably going to be a major boost in traffic so be careful. I’d also avoid using the old river road to get to Greenville/Johnson City, as it’s probably been washed out, and even if it’s receded the margin of error to travel on that road as narrow as it is could get your vehicle capsized washed down the river.
Yesterday also had power outages. Multiple stores and restaurants were closed for a while or all day. Our power came back on late last night. Local gas stations are swamped now, local grocery stores are swamped. There was concerns from the utilities that the water supply might have been contaminated but may not be the case, either way may want to boil your water for the time being just to be safe.
It’s rained a lot this year but my mom said even back when it flooded really bad in ’77 it wasn’t like this. It just shows how degraded and vulnerable our infrastructure is to acts of nature or due to neglect. Fortunately where I’m at wasn’t seriously impacted outside of the power outage. Just be aware for the time being traveling in this area is going to suck and slow to a crawl inside and outside of Erwin. As far as I’m aware I haven’t heard about any fatalities. Considering how bad this got there could have been a bunch.
Also thanks to the guy posting about the Nolichucky dam. I was reading up about it at work this morning, hopefully it’ll hold up. The river gets its name because it drowns a lot of people all throughout its history. We don’t need anymore of that right now.
None of the bridges on 11E between Johnson City and Greeneville are passable.
The entirety of 107 is closed too. The bridge over the French Broad is gone.
There was a house/shack next to a church that got flooded and slammed into a nearby bridge. It didn’t collapse but there’s concerns that it could. There was also a hotel and gas station/restaurant next to the hospital, I imagine those are all gone now too.
Sadly, I expect you are right.
Sundance, thank you for bringing attention to this crisis.
This area is where we live and conditions are extremely bad. I daresay, Biblical.
Hundreds of homes and farms are inundated with water. Roads are horrible with mudslides in addition to flooding. More small earthen dams are failing now too, as every hour goes by.
Greene County has a curfew from 9p -9a because there is only one functional bridge in the whole county.
The water treatment facility is underwater and they have maybe 36 hours of stored water left according to their most recent presser.
Businesses with high water usage – car washes, restaurants etc have been ordered closed to conserve water and stretch what they do still have in storage. If it runs out before the floodwaters recede and repairs can be made to the pumps we will be completely out of water for days or even weeks depending on the extent of equipment damage.
Every grocery store, convenience store, corner market, you name it is out of bottled water and almost out of food itself, because we also suffered high winds and widespread power outages.
Cellular service was down from early Thursday until 30 minutes ago. Internet service too.
Emergency services are suffering with a lot of volunteer fire and rescue building under water themselves, or trapped by closed roads.
There is zero , ZERO attention from any mainstream media as to the depth and breadth of the crisis in this area. No one has heard from a Fed agency either.
We’re MAGA country here. We already knew we’d be pretty much on our own if something really bad ever happened.
I hope you are okay.
We are ok. Thank you so much. We only had minor damage as we are at a bit higher elevation.
Can’t go anywhere more than a mile or so but we have what we need at least for the time being. Cell service keeps going down but we have pretty steady internet. Power has stayed on all day where we are.
Unfortunately more rain is forecast for the next 2 days.
I’m heartbroken for others around us who have nothing left, not even a shell of a structure to rummage through. 😢
So glad you didn’t have much damage, but the emotional damage will be difficult. Stay close to the Lord.
Prayers for all affected by this storm. Some have observed how critical communications are when you have none. Indeed.
For the future please consider investing time and some $ into radio communication equipment. Ideally study for and obtain your ham radio license, general class preferred or at least technician. It does cost some money but can be the only reliable means for contacting other hams who deploy in emergencies like this. They can pass along messages to family, contact emergency personnel, etc. These radios can run off of large battery packs when power is out.
One other option is to get a GMRS radio license. It requires no testing. Using a GMRS radio is fairly simple, but the range is much more limited than most ham frequencies due to line of sight interference and power restrictions.
For the first time I used my NOAA Emergency Crank Radio (or charging if have electricity). Bought it for family property on Florida island, but never had to use it. Used it in metro Atlanta this week. At least I could get emergency weather info. Still have the receipt. $73, Radio Shack, 2016. Who knows what Biden charges now. Simple to use.
Looked into a satellite phone system once. Too expensive for me. Erik Prince is making a phone product: “Unplugged”. No one can eavesdrop. I think he said he’d pay someone mega bucks if they could hack it. He talked about it on Shawn Ryan’s show. Very interesting.
Don’t forget landlines. For you young people, landlines will hold power in their copper wiring longer than anything else and will usually get you through a power outage where as a cell phone depends on cell towers which are electrically powered and will get knocked out by storms.
Very good point! Thanks for the reminder!
Talked neighbor @ lake house on Lake Chatuge, Hayesville NC
All OK, the people in charge opened the gate and dropped the lake level around 8′.
Proactive is great.
It was the SNAFU zone before it was the FUBAR zone. They were prepared!
I live over in the sylva/Cherokee area. Ended up taking a trip to SC for a long needed vacation from work. We’re safe and home wasn’t effected (Thank God!). The area just has no service for cells.
Can you tell me anything about Franklin? We haven’t been able to get in touch with my ex DIL….My son and granddaughter came to our house in Middle Tennessee. What’s the fuel situation and grocery store situation? My son plans on trying to go back on Monday…..
At 4:17 pm EST I found this Livestream on YouTube
.
Watch “Buncombe County officials update on Helene aftermath” on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/live/Wzk6kVCfBds?si=NCCKB11Cg8Fouj3a
Tough times. God bless the folks impacted in NE/E Tennessee and N.C..
We’re headed that way for a house hunting (more like longer term “community” relocation plans), i.e. to get the know the area. Will probably have to reroute. If the routes we intended to travel were not directly impacted by failed bridges and/or flooding, the diverted traffic from those areas will probably create a mess for months.
Minor issue for us compared to the impact to the people living there. Again, God bless ’em.
A youtube video in Erwin TN. Unbelievable footage.
There goes the industrial park…damn…
Heartbreaking. So sorry your area took a hit like this.
This is the FOX WEATHER 24/7 Livestream which started several months ago
Watch “Watch FOX Weather Channel Live Stream: Helene Continues Deadly Onslaught Across Southeast” on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/live/wt6SIE7BXS8?si=A3D8G_2WHF2_i7e
Anybody know anything about Brevard
I guess this is all kinda like Gatlinburg and the fires several years ago. Only this time it’s water.
I live in the North Carolina Piedmont, north of Winston-Salem about 10 miles from the Virginia state line. We had some wind and rain from Helene, but damage is minimal in this part of the state. We actually suffered worse from the heavy rains a week before.
Further west a completely different story. My son attends Appalachian State University in Boone, in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Right on the edge of the FUBAR zone. He’s been without power for two days and the university just suspended class until Friday October 4. He decided to come home for the week since we have power and internet at the house.
Boone is devastated. Lots of trees down, landslides, and washouts.
I’ve seen photos of Boone. It’s devastated. Glad your son went home.
The I-26 disaster in Irwin, Tennessee
An update on the I-40 washout, for those needing additional information. For most readers, this will be unnecessarily tedious, and should be skipped.
First, the lake behind the dam that didn’t fail was so low that the boat ramp was not near the water. 2 weeks later, it was spilling over. The is a fan page for the lake:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1931056327115468/
Also, beautiful video:
I am very familiar with that stretch of interstate, so much so that I knew the spot when the first pictures were released, including the lead photo Sundance used above. This section has failed before, and I believe that the washed out section was fill soil used in a prior repair of a collapse about 15 years ago.
The below picture was released by NC DOT just after 3PM today. Please refer to it for clarity, if you wish.
https://x.com/NCDOT_Westmtn/status/1840106448870678652/photo/1
Please note above and to the right of the road bed the rock wall that was blasted back when the road was initially constructed. This is the general geology of the mountains there. Rock, trees hanging on to the top of the rock, and thin soil.
This view is to the west, looking towards Tennessee. The missing roadbed is from the eastbound side, leaving Tennessee.
Immediately noticeable is the difference in composition above and below the roadbed. Much of your road bed is not built on the actual earth, but on fill hauled in and compacted to make a more level and straighter path. That appears to be the case at this site. Looking back at the lead picture above, a flat area beside the stopped tractor trailers is a spot filled during the prior repair. Please understand that I am operating on memory and photographs. I would be glad to go check this out, but clearly, no one will be allowed in the area.
As expected, the washout severely undercut the road bed so far that the remaining two lanes cannot be considered stable. Drainage installed during the prior repair is visible, with water spouts still operating.
Be advised that the river bed is no where near the water level shown in the photo. While this is a more shallow part of the gorge, I would guess that between two thirds and three fourths of the depth below the road is flood water.
This river crosses under the interstate in Tennessee ( This picture is in NC) and may have topped the road there, also. So, there are likely additional points upstream and down stream that will have to be certified as safe before any of the repair can be initiated.
A local TV station had video of the scene showing a retaining wall built in the prior repair that was intact. Apparently, the video was removed. I have no way of knowing if the entire repair held, or if the repair had a partial failure. That wall is under the roadbed nearest in the picture. Video is here, showing partial failure of the wall:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/wFpDSAPfYus
Also, the NCDOT Western Mts X page is reporting ” i-40 and I -26 are impassable in multiple locations”.
https://x.com/NCDOT_Westmtn
It is possible other failures will have to be addressed to allow access for this site.
So, the order of work to repair this will start with an engineering evaluation of the soil conditions under the roadbed. This will allow the determination of how much of the remaining road, and roadbed, will require removal because of lost compaction. Core samples likely will be taken and analyzed. Drying maybe needed before heavy equipment arrives. No idea on time involved.
After the roadway is removed, all soil below that has lost compaction will have to be removed and re-compacted. By then, the engineers will have decided on new retaining wall designs. That is a deep river gorge, that could be a substantial project in itself.
Historically, the repair method in the gorge has been to build larger, deeper, and wider retention, compacting the soil as they go. Prior slides here have taken several months of retention and soil work, with smaller damage. This is a much larger damage than previous failures.
Usually, after a while, traffic is reopened on the inside lanes , one lane in each direction. The result is hours of delay.
In this case, the heavy equipment will not have a good lane from which to work. Sure can’t start in the middle here, so work will have to commence with excavation from each end, and construction of sites to work from as the crews progress. The constricted work area is obvious. The crews will have to build the place to “stand” so they can work.
A long, wet winter will not help. After the new retaining system and soil is prepped, actual road building can start. There is no place away from the site that a new road section can be built and carried into place as in the Florida bridge failure.
Both state DOT’s have extensive experience repairing slides in this section of road and already have the right people working on it. It will be many months. Nothing can change that.
I will look later for rail line information. There must be impact there as well.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GYlfDAdW4AAoRwn?format=jpg&name=4096×4096
This reminds me of another real problem stretch of the interstate highway system, I70 through Glennwood Canyon in western Colorado. It has been repaired several times to my memory. The link is to 2021 after mudslides ruined part of the route. Parts of the interstate are hanging out over the river, quite an engineering feat but perhaps not a wise route to begin with.
https://www.cpr.org/2021/08/12/your-guide-to-the-i-70-shutdown-when-its-reopening-how-much-repairs-will-cost-and-why-it-keeps-happening/
Evidently the interstate is partially open except in flash flood weather. The alternate route is one heck of a ways out of the way. Better to use I80 through Wyoming or I40 through New Mexico than have to take that detour through Steamboat Springs. (Cottonwood pass is one to drive very carefully on if you’re not used to mountain travel.
https://www.codot.gov/travel/glenwoodcanyon
Thanks for the info
Photos of the terrible damage.
🙏🏻 🙏🏻 🙏🏻 🙏🏻 🙏🏻
https://apnews.com/article/hurricane-helene-damage-destruction-photo-gallery-13626c429de49e63caf78d6a1f7f1f7c
I was just in northeastern Georgia earlier today (near Dahlonega) and it was still raining a little up there. Praying that things dry out and calm down now!
HAARP
Is there any country in the world that offers aid to US or we just expected to prop up their pensioners?
Only time I can think of, off hand, is right after the 9-11 attacks in NYC, the Saudis offered Mayor Giuliani a large sum of money. Giuliani told the Saudis to stuff it.