I am certainly no expert on North Carolina politics, but what I can tell you after watching this interview is that North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper is completely incapable of dealing with the catastrophic crisis unfolding right now in WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA.

Far-east Tennessee and Western North Carolina are cut-off from the rest of the world.  Not only have the main artery roads, interstates and bridges been wiped out, but also communication lines, fiber optic cables, transmission towers, cell towers, the works have been destroyed.

If you remember the communication blackout, and subsequent slow rolling information stream that took four days to surface in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (2005), you will have reference for why it is taking the nation so long to realize what is happening in Western NC.

The video below is exactly what you do not want to see in this situation.

Last night Governor Roy Cooper delivered a shocking “exclusive interview” with WLOS News 13.  What makes the interview “shocking” is not just what Cooper says, but the manner in which he says it.  This guy is in a bubble without any concept of what is happening on the ground.  This interview represents everything you NEVER WANT TO SEE, in a state of emergency. WATCH:

First, Governor Roy Cooper is isolated and alone.  There are no state emergency officials next to him.  He is not in an emergency response posture; nor is he in a coordination center with the officials that matter.  15 minutes of time during a period of extreme crisis is a lot of time to waste.  This should be a press conference with every state emergency official, from every responding agency, surrounding him to offer specifics on what they are doing.

Next, listen carefully to what Governor Cooper is saying.  You will hear the words “learning”, “coordinating”, “facilitating”, “attempting to understand” etc., intertwined in the responses.

Governor Cooper has no idea what to do and he is deferring response to the private sector, who are stuck inside the crisis region.  The scale of the crisis is too large for the private sector to handle right now.  People are trapped and literally exposed to deadly situations during these 15 minutes of nothing.

Western North Carolina is in a state of crisis.  People are trapped. Entire small towns and communities are isolated by lost roads and bridges. Many people can only be reached by helicopter.  Communication in the region is almost impossible.  The outside world has no way to understand just how bad things are in specific areas because those areas are cut-off from all transit and communication.

Now is not the time for politics.  This issue is about competency.

Now is a time for action.  This is day #3, and as each day passes the desperation gets worse.  Remember, the standard rule of thumb from all emergency officials is for everyone to be self-sufficient for 3 days.  After those 3 days, responses and resources should be well positioned.

When day #4 comes and there is still no adequate response, you get a Katrina outcome; desperation starts to manifest in social breakdown.

The people of North Carolina are good, self-sufficient and resourceful people who will help each other and their neighbor.  No, they are not Katrina dependency minded.  These are bootstrapped, solid people who know how to survive.  However, there are also many people in the region in less fortunate situations; older, perhaps more vulnerable, perhaps less prepared, and currently cut off from the world.

Governor Cooper needs to get there himself.

 

Posted in Hurricane Helene, Uncategorized, Weather Events
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