UPDATE: We will continue bumping this thread to keep the communication lines available.
...”I live in the Western part of the US; reading these comments is like listening in on a (telephone) party line. This is the first I’ve heard firsthand live reports from the people directly affected. For the first time there is no canned, approved spoon fed mis-information delivered by the faceless and unaffected paid to be there.”….
Which is exactly the reason we keep this thread going!
As the areas in Eastern Tennessee, Western North Carolina and the Western gulf coast of Florida continue recovery operations from Hurricanes Helene and Milton, our thoughts are with those who are still impacted and dealing with the long-term recovery process.
If you have stability and the ability to communicate, we are wondering how you guys are doing.
Can we get a Standing Ovation for our hardworking Linemen? pic.twitter.com/jyP2hmbqub
— Still🏝️Roaming (@roaming_rn) October 17, 2024
Working with several ground groups, we have sent toolboxes and resources into the area for the arduous tasks that remain. There are many who feel overwhelmed; just know our thoughts and deepest prayers remain with you. It will get a little better every day.
Resourceful teams (mostly electrical restoration experts) who learned quickly after they helped the Puerto Rico Mountain areas in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria are doing amazing work reaching some of the more isolated areas. These are good friends with a git-r-done approach.
Eastern Tennessee power has mostly returned; however, approximately 23,500 of the 1.5 million customers that lost power, just in the Western North Carolina area still lack electricity as of today, according to Poweroutage.us. Additionally, there are still about 365,000 Floridians without power.
The power restoration in the dense mountain forests of WNC is slow going, some roads and bridges are completely washed away. According to the Associated Press report, “The crews aren’t doing what they typically do, which is a repair effort. They’re rebuilding from the ground up,” said Kristie Aldridge, vice president of communications at North Carolina Electric Cooperatives {link}.
There are widespread rumors and disparate reports of the overall death toll, at last count was well over 200. Anecdotal reports from people in the WNC region put the death toll much higher but are difficult to confirm. We do not want to spread rumors, yet we simultaneously accept this close to the election there is an unfortunate incentive for both federal and state emergency management officials to keep the death toll numbers hidden.
The bottom line is a concern for everyone in the impact areas. Therefore, ground reports are the most valuable. How are y’all doing?
Dear God of grace and strength, in the midst of uncertainty, fear and change we turn to You for stability and strength. Please grant us the wisdom and fortitude to navigate the unknown, the courage to face challenges, and the faith to trust Your divine plan.
Heavenly Father, let Your unwavering presence be our anchor in the aftermath of these storms. Grant us the resilience to face the challenges of recovery with grace and hearts filled with purpose. May we continue to find, patience, stability and fellowship in Your eternal love.
Thank You for guiding us through these uncertain times. In Jesus blessed and loving name we pray. ~ Amen.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/10/breaking-armed-north-carolina-man-arrested-after-allegedly/
That doesn’t sound right to me. The complaint is that they are interfering with people trying to help as they do NOTHING.
People who have been on the “news reporting side” of US disasters hear a lot of the same things over and over again.
The Dog NOT Barking?
The Army Corps of Engineers — they have always been deployed immediately. We’ve not heard that name during this whole tragedy.
Daniel, this is Daily Beast, so . . .
https://www.thedailybeast.com/hurricane-relief-officials-threatened-by-armed-militias-in-north-carolina
Feels like fake news. Militia wouldn’t do this. No one would. Sounds like DOJ narrative to me.
In a news conf:
Reporter to Mayorkas: “Why hasn’t FEMA been doing their job?”
Mayorkas to Reporter: “Didn’t you hear White militia in the area has been hunting FEMA and they are in fear for their lives?!”
This is the worst BS I’ve ever heard.
Go back to Communist Cuba, My-Pork-Ass.
Another Treehouse Winner!
And a pox on the house of myorkas.
Thank you, Aggiegirl!
Sounds a bit like the Jan 6 “insurrection” narrative too
Narrative you say…
So, are they showing up in khaki pants and matching shirts with an FBI kind of vibe! Good grief, the propaganda is thick and evil these days!
Right on cue.. lemme guess, FEMA waved their Uhaul and Penske trucks right on through the confiscation checkpoints..
Filthy liar, GREENBLATT.
Patriot Front is a fed psyop
Exactly! First thing I though of!
Agree.
White militia ? Show us one.
When certain individuals refer to “White” think various waves of Russian revolutions to know the source and meaning.
That lying liar Mayuorkas is paid by you, and by me, to pontificate while destroying our nation’s sovereignty.
And it is absolutely BS.
The North Carolina National Guard said the story is absolutely NOT TRUE! CBS, AP, and everyone else reporting is despicable while people are suffering and struggling.
“CBS Headline Is a False Flag (AKA: a Lie). ‘CBS Went Full AP…Never Go Full AP”
Excerpts:
Ok, so the National Guard told CBS that the story about armed gangs of men “Goin’ huntin’ fer some FEMA hides” is a lie. The National Guard confirms that it didn’t happen, but sorry, AP, CBS writes a sensational headline for clicks anyway. The headline states a “fact” that isn’t remotely accurate – but reports it as a fact – knowing Harris voters will read the headline and tell their friends that armed gangs of KKK-hooded hoodlums have murdered puppies and FEMA people.
https://redstate.com/jimthompson/2024/10/14/cbs-headline-is-a-fals-flag-aka-a-lie-cbs-went-full-apnever-go-full-ap-n2180558
This would be the same CBS that did the hyper-edit of Que Mala’s 60 Minutes interview, correct?
Pure deflection — Only a reprobate mind would conjure up such an absurdity in order to escape the judgment that is due him.
The only people who put on white coats and murder puppies is Fauci and his ilk.
I suppose that’s the same reason Mayorkas’ people are not protecting our borders.
Some of those incoming illegals might be > dangerous <.
Kinda like “We couldn’t go on the roof because it is too steep “.
Evidently the “white militia” got there before FEMA.. Which means that they were there for a week after Helene before FEMA showed up. Ironic that the groups that have been on the ground since Helene left haven’t encountered these problems! Maybe it was the insult of Kamala’s “generous” $750 offer. Maybe some of the FEMA funds went to buy her expensive necklace or her earrings. People who have gone to deliver supplies to the victims since the day after Helene struck have never mentioned militia. They have discussed rotor wash by NCNG copters and the mandatory stoppage of rescue operations and supply drops for 3 hours while Biden made a 15 minute flyover. Maybe no one could have been saved in those 3 hours. Maybe someone was saved by the 15 minute flyover. Maybe the militia story is like the Russia, Russia, Russia scare. A cover story to cover up the real crime. Just stop. Give the money to Samaritan’s Purse, to the volunteer helicopter pilots for gas and their expenses. You in the government obviously don’t give a damn about the people of the Blue Ridge mountains. They are legal, taxpaying, honest citizens. Not your kind of people!
Were these alleged “militia” carrying wearing khakis and carrying Tiki Torches? Or were they wearing MAGA hats and accosting people carrying meatball subway sandwiches?
Those unsubstantiated militia reports seem to dovetail suspiciously well with the normal Democrat October Surprise narrative about rampant “White Supremacy” and myths about hate crimes.
I’m sure it has just absolutely nothing to do with a desperate move to reverse Kamala’s fast-dropping poll results by stoking hysteria among minorities, particularly black men, Leftist women. /s/
I can see how the media was eagerly moving toward stringing together militia stories with the amplified stories about the nutjob “sovereign citizen” arrested at Trump’s Coachella rally, with some other random gun stories to build up a drum-beat about dangerous armed anti-government groups as a “threat to democracy.”
The so-called Sovereign citizen is a patriot and innocent of any wrongdoing. Alex Jones did an interview with him today. The feds harassed him for no reason and did not even end up charging him with any crimes because he hadn’t committed one. Also he went up to the police and as a courtesy let them know that he did have some guns in his car and that’s when they started hassling him.
Mayorkas is demonic. Thoroughly evil man, servant of the Father of Lies.
EVIL.
They were forced to admit the militia rumor was false, apparently there was one guy arrested:
https://headlineusa.com/fema-orders-north-carolina-workers-to-stand-down-over-unconfirmed-militia-rumor/
At this point I just do not see that FEMA has the authority to “order” anyone to stand down.
I think this story was connected to the single arrest. No “militias” were seen or involved.
Exactly. That was my point.
Seems like this content is fanning the flames. All of these stories are almost verbatim (like the Russia collusion story), causing me to suspect they are being fed to “media” by govt to spread disinformation.
“ Donald Trump has also fanned the flames, pushing unfounded allegations that the Democratic Party is deliberately withholding disaster relief from Republican voters, and that emergency funds have been diverted to undocumented migrants.”
We all know this is the case with FEMA funds.
I agree–fanning the flames. That’s why I pointed out “Daily Beast, so. . . . ” implying that they are part of the demon fake news.
Making matters worse, the FEMA $750 deal is not a grant but a LOAN.
That was debunked this afternoon.
That’s nothing more than a typical gubmint psy-op to be used as cover for their dereliction of duty.
It also feeds directly into the fblie’s “right wing domestic, violent extremist” narrative for which there has always been zero corroborating evidence.
Exactly. They will report this complete false story but will disregard the fact that FEMA didn’t show up for 5 days.
FEMA is derelict but it always has been. It’s what we’ve come to expect from the feds.
The real tragedy is guvnah Roy Cooper’s criminal negligence killed 1000s of NC citizens. The NCNG sat on the tarmac for 5 days waiting for orders that never came until somebody grabbed Lt Guvnah Marc Robinson. What the hell was Cooper waiting for? Mamala’s permission to sign his name?
Bingo.
The media does not report it when national forests in the Pacific Northwest have turned into no-man’s lands because of Mexican drug cartel illegal marihuana plantations. They barely report when Chicago neighborhoods are free-fire zones from all the gang warfare. Shills like Martha Raddatz deny and dismiss reporting about entire apartment buildings being taken over by Venezuelan prison gangs.
But let one guy in the mountains of North Carolina do something stupid when FEMA finally shows up two weeks late… and it becomes a big story about white militias.
They’re desperate for any story to cover up state & federal gubmint’s criminal negligence.
I was hoping we wouldn’t.. They could eff up a cup of coffee. I was hoping to see the 10th Mountain Division on Day 2, all over those hollers on both sides of the Hill, “like ugly on an ape”..
Sadly, the 10th Mountain Division exists as a “mountain-trained and experienced division” only in history. The name today remains just that: a name. As far as I know, the division boasts no special competence in mountainous terrain but rather exists as a light infantry division available for general deployments of which it has had many.
Are the Delta Boys capable of going into the mountains? Aren’t they at Bragg? What good is the EO allowing military to assist LE signed on Sept. 27, then?
Had family in the 10th Mountain Division- did three tours in the mountains of Afghanistan.
My DH was in the 35th Engineers Battalion of the National Guard and they built bridges when they would go to summer camp. Why is the National Guard not helping?
Many units are deployed overseas
They are.
They have been the most obvious, most helpful military presence. It is true that they did not arrive for the first four or five days, but at least they did arrive. They helped fly supplies, clear roads, and deal with flooded areas.
The NG is not the problem.
The NG didn’t arrive because guvnah Cooper never deployed them.
The negligence was his, not theirs.
My favorite show growing up. The A-Team was No.2. That must be why I have always appreciated the aesthetics of the Mini 14..
Still love it when a plan comes together.
Related to nothing here, but we watched A Team reruns on Pluto TV last week. The bous could blow things up, but EVERYONE on EVERY episode of that show needed more time at the range because none of them could hit the broadside of a barn if they were inside it.
Obviously, that was intentional but we were laughing about it after a few shows.
Mini’s are fun, miss the days of nickel a round surplus ammo.
Also from the Gateway Pundit:
“However, in a statement to CBS, the North Carolina National Guard wrote, “The NCNG has no reports of our soldiers or airmen encountering any armed militia, any threats and any type of combatants. We are continuing to serve all those counties in need of our assistance.”
According to the sheriff’s office, “The initial report stated there was a truck load of militia that was involved. However, after further investigation, it was determined Parsons acted alone and there were no truck loads of militia going to Lake Lure.”
BREAKING: Armed North Carolina Man Arrested After Allegedly Threatening FEMA Workers Assisting Hurricane Helene Victims — Reports of Militia Trucks ‘Hunting FEMA’ Deemed Unfounded | The Gateway Pundit | by Jim Hᴏft
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/10/breaking-armed-north-carolina-man-arrested-after-allegedly/
The level of belligerent government incompetence is staggering!!” Musk wrote.
Also, multiple whistleblowers have come forward to expose the mismanagement at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) just as Hurricane Helene devastates the southeastern U.S.
According to a letter from Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) whistleblowers allege that FEMA withheld critical pre-disaster funds and failed to issue deployment orders to first responders, leaving Americans stranded in the wake of the storm.
The story is completely fake and is bull 💩.
The AP and CBS will report this, but they refuse to report on the actual Death Toll or the illegals stealing from the trucks carrying supplies to the disaster victims.
Strikes me as fake news trying to absolve FEMA for doing nothing.
General Flynn was not happy with the lack of resources!!!
I was wondering the same thing. Where us the Army Corps of Engineers? They rush in fast enough to build for other countries. I am mirevthan sick of this Keystone Kops administration.
That’s where they are — all those billions sent to Ukraine to rebuild the destruction Biden/Harris caused over there that we pay for!! But, good grief, they can’t afford to rebuild North Carolina! A special place in hell is reserved for these immoral, hate-filled people!
There is definitely a media battle going on. It is all ucked up and really peeving me.
General Flynn waxes eloquently and angrily about the lack of the required level of military support here >
Sundance, a huge THANK YOU for this thread! God Bless you for all you do.
thank you sundance…
(5th paragraph should be eastern TN)
Some parts of VA hit hard too–like Damascus.
Parts of Eastern Kentucky were out too due to Helena high winds. I am in Estill County, KY and we were out three full days.
🙏✊️🙏✊️🙏✊️
Wonderful prayer, thank you and Amen.
My husband’s elderly aunt in St. Petersburg FL got her power back on yesterday. She has been vague other than yard debris. My mister is arranging a trip down there to assist with her needs … about 68% of St. Pete lost power during Milton. She is unwilling to talk about her ability to navigate the home (she was just discharged with a broken leg a few days before the storm) but we keep trying.
Not being a resident what’s worse? The hurricane or the lack of help from the Feds.
It’s not a lack of help. It’s their active interference with help. And it doesn’t get any worse than the elected government acting against its own people, especially in the aftermath of an enormous and unprecedented amount of destruction.
The aftermath is equally as bad as the event itself.
Sadly many Floridians will not qualify for help with Milton or Helene. You have to fill out a form and they step in only after insurance has been claimed. The deductibles are very high so people wonder if FEMA will pay the deductible for them.
There is alot of online form filling and producing of documents that no longer exist, before you get financial help. Most people will just carry with the help of neighbors, friends and family, or move away from the area for good.
Thank you Sundance. Did everyone see the 6 people pulled from the Mud that had coverd the Home? amazing. Be safe everyone and have a good week
Going very well here north of Tampa. Most utilities are restored in Pasco County. Two odd things: (1) More and more we find small pockets still out while the rest of the area gets restored. Our son’s subdivision is back to normal — except for six or eight buildings, including his, that remain out. Some neighbors and friends tell of groups of a few houses or buildings that still are dark. Hard work to get everyone back up. (2) The overall rate of recovery is remarkable. North Pinellas County went from 250k+ out to 125k in one day. Sucks if you’re still out but the linemen are doing yeomen’s work. Keep your chins up, and best to all!
I live in St. Petersburg and drove around today and there is everyone out cleaning up. Saw some National Guardsmen picking up tree debris on the main roads. My apartment complex has been amazing. Have never seen a management team so proactive. Electricity is on and the internet up and running on Sunday. Most of the Publix stores have empty shelves as of yesterday afternoon. No bread anywhere.
Florida deserves credit for their response and pre staging of assets. Incredible work being done to get lives back to normal as much as possible.
Lakewood Ranch FL (Bradenton/Sarasota) – we got lucky. Eye passed right over us. Never lost power, lots of trees down and damage lanai cages. Our Rotary District 6960 is hard at work helping thouse closer to the water and further north of us that had significant damage. Plus Venice on down with storm surge.
Beautiful prayer 🙏
In Jesus name, Amen.
Little to no gas, Publix (3 of them, 12 miles apart) meat section has about a third of its usual contents. The river keeps rising. If we get hit again, all bets are off.
You’re lucky here we have Publix 2 miles a part, it a sea of green.
Is it CVS or Walgreens on every corner? I am just about 12 to 15 miles from everything in all directions.
Praying for y’all, New Florida. No more hits, please dear Jesus!!
Thank you Ma’am.
I’m in the area. I’m fine, my family’s fine, but a lot of people can’t claim the same.
I will 100% back up the claims that deaths are being drastically underreported. I’m hearing from friends in the medical field that places that usually have hundreds of body bags on-hand are running out. I won’t ascribe motive, but it’s a lot worse than is being reported.
The main hospital in Asheville, Mission, has had several attempted robberies/looting incidents. I heard some handgun fire the first few nights after everything went down, but most of the trouble is staying in Asheville at the moment.
Some of the smaller communities in the surrounding area are just gone. Others have sustained significant damage.
A big problem is that several of the windy mountain roads have been washed out, leaving steep drop offs that will have to be filled in before the roads can be resurfaced. This is impeding access for emergency responders. I know firsthand that some have died waiting for help to get to them.
It’s going to be a long time before this area recovers, but we’ll get through. We appreciate the help that everyone has been sending our way! If there’s a lesson here, I’d say it’s that your crazy prepper friend was right – Stock up on food, water, and *ahem* “protective items” because you never know when you’ll need it.
I’m happy to hear that you are Doing OK. I will continue to pray for all who are suffering through this devastation. It is just sad that they will not report the true death toll. I had heard reports that there were hundreds of unidentified bodies in the morgues and hospitals and the MSM will not even report that.
I just heard a clip of Elon Musk saying they made their car batteries waterproof, so they work when wet, and they don’t catch on fire from Salt Water.
When I heard about electric cars catching fire, I assumed that they were Teslas which I realized probably wasn’t the case.
You can’t assume it’s not Tesla. While work to make a thing resistant, one can never really defeat salt water corrosion. One of the flood videos I saw was of a Tesla going up in flames inside a garage inside a house.
It’s also possible someone bought a used Tesla and replaced the batteries with something from a 3rd party. The cost of battery replacements are such that people would prefer to just buy a new Tesla.
We can’t know of all relevant details without interviewing specific subjects, but we can know that no technology can completely prevent corrosion and damage from salt water. After all, it’s more than the batteries which need active cooling, but also the devices being run with the batteries. IF they short in such a way that it caused unmanageable load, the result would be the same as a compromised battery system.
There was this fire in Bloomington, IL, a few months ago:
https://www.motortrend.com/news/rivian-normal-illinois-truck-suv-factory-fire/
Apparently, they let the fire just burn itself out.
Me too
I don’t think highly of EVs in any event, but Helene has reinforced the fact that EV’s are useless in situations like we’re seeing. You can’t fly electricity into remote areas.
I have heard (so, hearsay) that the death count in Eastern Tennessee and Western North Carolina mountains is in the tens of thousands – from people who have been up in those hills trying to find survivors. And since we don’t want to start rumors, it is still important to be prepared for such hard, heartbreaking, and devastating news. How could there not be that many dead when water twice the power of Niagra Falls wiped out entire towns, roads, bridges, hillsides, etc.? When I hear “200 dead” – that is not a believable number. It’s just not. I don’t believe “FEMA is broke”. I believe the federal government is refusing to throw every resource at the problem.
The “media” is/are such strange creatures from some unkown, heartless, planet. They protect an agenda that is killing people (Venezuelan gangs in Colorado, murders and rapes by illegal aliens, etc etc etc), and constantly “debunk” what people on the ground are saying about the lack of government help in our own horrible disasters, and how many people are dying from the government’s lack of responsblities here at home. And today’s news is about a man who “threatened FEMA workers” and was arrested. Heck, if I lived up in those mountains and someone interfered with me trying to save my family and neighbors, I’d be doing more than threatening. You can only push people so far before they crack (the agenda, by the way). But, I also see it as part of their painting the picture, AGAIN, of backwoods rednecks who would vote for Trump. Where is the compassion and empathy? I didn’t think my distrust of our government could sink any lower, but it has.
Everything is a$$ backwards.
Not hearsay: I know many people and churches and organizations are still out there helping their neighbors and they aren’t giving up, nor are they forgetting them, nor have we stopped giving to make that happen. That gives me more comfort than anything the government could ever do or say. In my little town, several churches and businesses, are still making supply runs with donations to East Tennessee, and people are still giving even though their budgets are sorely pressed.
It would make sense that the government knows this and desperately needs the election to happen before the news comes out.
I only saw one time that 500 body bags had been used and all the cold storage (?) trucks were full. This was just a few days after the storm.
IMO, the MSM is enemy #1. Without their complicity, the government couldn’t get away with all that they have. The MSM are traitors and should be treated as such.
We should know who their pay-masters are.
MSM mouthpieces are low-level misanthropes; it’s their puppet masters who need a painful shellacking and 50-year orbiting trip around our globe — since they seem so interested in globalism.
Please let us know of reliable places to send $$. We have given to Samaritan’s Purse. Happy to help local churches if you know reliable options.
United Carolina Calvary, Cajun Navy 2016 have been on the ground doing so much there. Samaritan’s Purse is awesome!!
75-80% or more of the people in fed gubmint all went to the same schools, have been indoctrinated with the same marxist bull crap, hang with the same people, go to the same restaurants and bars, go to all the correct parties, and HATE everyone and everything in flyover country. Of course they’re not going to help! They hate us! We are superfluous, don’t count, and not anyone to be concerned about. That’s who they are. They all need to be fired. They produce nothing and consume all they think they are entitled to consume. Karma is going to them all very hard when they are held accountable.
Will they ever be held accountable? Covid, should be trials galore for all the folks they killed with a mandated vaccine. The list is long as we all know.
Would prefer to get funds to the small Churches/ Body of Christ that are actively assisting.
Would it be okay to publish a list of the ones you know that we can contact directly and get funds into their hands?
Thanks.
Look on Facebook for churches local to the area that are posting proof of helping.
For example they may be posting pictures showing supplies or people getting supplies or hours for people to come for meals and supplies.
Look for the churches that are already actively helping people and posting updates about it on Facebook.
I heard of one in Mars Hill that is doing just that.
If you find a church that is helping the people, it is likely the pastor may know of other churches in adjoining areas helping as well.
I listen to Johnny Enlow on Elijah Streams. They are in TN. His son in law went to the hurricane zone and got into co tact with many local churches and pastors.
They are taking truckloads to areas in need. 100% of all donations go to aid
https://restore7.org/helene
Harris’ martial partner Emhoff/Blackrock/Vanguard has mining rights to Chimney Rock quartz/lithium extraction. Just a coincidence.
Add in that the home inspection firms doing the appraisals for the $750 loans are also owned by those same entities…so I read from someone in the NC devastated area who has done her homework.
There are no coincidences.
What are the chances such appraisals are intended to surreptitiously identify properties the Derps can declare condemned, hence, easier to vacate and seize?
I’d say 100%.
“Curiouser and curiouser “, said Alice…
Or most likely not.
As we all know, they are all greedy psychopaths.
Right there with you Betsy J.
The media is enemy #2, right after the IC.
I can’t think of another word to describe them, Quoheleth. I want to say “evil”, too.
We use that word so often , I don’t want it to lose its power.
But absolutely not a spark of human decency in them.
Every page in their Books of Life soiled and decaying.
Those Hedgie bastards don’t take a day off, do they?
Power and money are powerful aphrodisiacs. They have to have their continuous “hits”, Cornbread.
No…they do not.
MAKE VIRAL
You meant “marital” partner … but on second thought “martial” is a much better description of Mister Que Mala.
A local radio hose host said that FEMA has only two outfits contracted to do property damage assessment and that both are owned by Blackrock and Vanguard, the same outfits that reportedly have been buying up real estate in the wake of the COVID downturn.
I will be going up to NC mountains with a church group this Thursday to work at the direction of Samaritan’s Purse. Will let everyone know what I find.
God Bless You!
Where are you going?
Three volunteers with SamPurse just returned home, and were at church yesterday (10/13). They told of almost-inconceivable damage in W NC. They did not personally experience any FEMA obstructive behavior. Our folks commented that the current rescue mission will become a rebuild-and-repair project that may well last until the end of 2025.
regarding the time needed to recover, I’ve heard several people in the helping businesses say the that lack of volunteers will be the major issue they’ll face, especially as winter sets in and people in the cities get back to relative normal.
I did the same for Hurricane Ian. Samaritan’s Purse is an incredible organization! One of the most impactful experiences of my life.
Thank you Sundance.
Wormy here. It’s pretty depressing here in Avl area. They are in a scramble with the water system. Still no flowing water for the majority on city water. They can’t give a date on when the schools will open. Many businesses scrambling because they can’t open because they don’t have water. My pastor at a major church said he had heard from a respected source there are 1800 people missing and presumed dead. It would make it the deadliest hurricane in modern history. Gonna be a long slog thru the winter and spring but maybe we’ll be back to some brighter days by the summer next year. Thanks for all the volunteers, supplies and donations. Trust me they are making a difference and being used; I’ve seen it first hand.
“It would make it the deadliest hurricane in modern history.”
^^^^^This and their horrific and disastrous response is exactly what they don’t want reported. This is why they are touting their mis/dis/mal information lie that we are hearing and seeing with our own eyes should not believe. 🤯🤬😤
Wormy…all y’all know that we are also praying very hard for everyone in that region.
Our neighbors have son/dil/grandkids in Spruce Pine, so we sent them our 5 yr old generator up over a wk ago. Prayers for the 10’s of 1000’s that have been affected. Many are in God’s arms, and so many families need the get r done people beside them.
Amen
Amen to your prayer, Sundance. A couple of family members in Black Mountain, who live in upscale senior community, got power a week ago and running water two days ago, but they are told that they should only use the water for flushing toilets. Mobile shower facilities have been brought in for bathing. These family members have praised FEMA for providing drinking water, but the website for their retirement village credits Samaritan’s Purse. Possibly both have provided water.
Cragmont Assembly, an Original Free Will Baptist camp and conference center in Black Mountain, has been providing over 6000 meals a day, as well as providing supplies. Donations of food, water, supplies, etc. have poured in from churches all over the state to the point that they’ve asked that we hold off until next week to send more. Financial donations are also more than anyone expected. What they need most now are more volunteers to be on-site. Wonderful stories of how these donations have helped so many and the gratitude shown by those in need.
I am in one of the “disaster declared” NC counties but came out relatively unscathed. No power/water for 9 days, living like Little House on the Prairie, but minimal property damage, no loss of life. Got by on a borrowed generator and some fancy appliance management. Good Boy Scout/Girl Scout/ 4-H/ Pony Club skills recalled from years ago. Others, not so fortunate. MASSIVE volunteer efforts and Samaritan’s Purse, as usual, is at the tip of the spear!! FEMA was NOT helpful and not present for approximately a week. What these people in the mountains needed was Army Corp of Engineers help, earth moving equipment, chain saws, massive amounts of potable water, MRE’s and search and rescue STAT. What they got was FEMA execs showing up at the Asheville airport in private jets from which 4 people emerged, as witnessed by another medical worker picking up pediatric supplies at a private area of the airport where other charity foundations were receiving their supplies, Cajun Navy to name one. FEMA and the government were caught with their pants down and the Good Lord knows, in an election year, that is make or break. THAT, friends is why you’ve seen non-stop, 24/7 pusg back to tamp down the truth of the matter. And any red-blooded North Carolinian will tell you the same!!! #TRUMP2024
That’s the Spirit!
Transformer shortage. The US continues to have a critical vulnerability to an ongoing shortage of transformers. Hurricane Beryl, Helene and Milton have continually exposed this problem which is not being adequately addressed. Transformer lead times are reportedly two years now (a fourfold jump from pre-2022 levels) along with hefty price increases. One estimate suggest US transformer capacity may need to increase by 260% by 2050 to meet demand. Every industrial project manager worth their salt knows transformers are a long-lead item. Where is our plan to combat this critical shortage? The DEI hires can’t solve this one IMO.
The 51st State just got several shipments of power station repair parts.. Duke says we Mainlanders are facing supply chain issues with anything power plant related..
AKA Ukrainia?
Aye.
I recently read an article saying the current shortage of transformers is due to them being shipped to Ukraine for many months. I don’t know how accurate that statement is but seems plausible in this current political climate.
https://patriotcommandcenter.org/forum/natalie-winters-wh-deals-sends-generators-and-transformers-to-ukr
There are numerous reports that we are having a transformer shortage because we sent so many to Ukraine! Infuriating!
It has come out that the stinking Biden Harris Administration shipped almost all of our Transformers and electrical power equipment to freaking Ukraine!!
My wife and I visited Asheville less than a year ago with a couple friends and I’m really curious how the recovery is coming along there. We went to a number of very cool breweries like Sierra Nevada’s amazing River Mill brewery complex, and a bunch of smaller breweries in downtown Asheville. Also a number of great restaurants. The town itself is very hilly, just walking say 10 blocks uphill is not for the faint-hearted. I’ve checked the internet for information and it’s sparse to say the least.
Many people in Asheville do not have water. They do not know when water will be available. Restaurants are closed. Businesses are closed. Small businesses like hair salons, chiropractors, and such cannot open. The livelihood of these people is threatened long term.
If Asheville City Council had back all of the money they spent on removing the Vance Monument, perhaps they could invest it in people in need.
Asheville, NC is one of the few cities that funded a reparations program.
Bradenton Beach FL, power came on Sunday (yesterday) still no internet.
There has been a gas shortage.
Sue, lived on Ave. A for over 20 years. Moved 3 years ago. You have any idea how that area did?
Have not heard it mentioned mentioned before, houses built after 1997 in BB have to be built 10 ft off ground with no livable 1st floor. Many of destroyed homes were built before 1997 or in areas with no such restrictions.
Pray and help others.
We have friends that have a place on Ave B. Spoke to them after Helene but they had not visited their place yet. We should be in touch with them next week. They winter there from Maryland. I had also heard that if anyone needed to rebuild the home would need to be raised. That is a majority of homes in AMI, HB & BB.
Several pieces of news….a man in my Sunday School class found out Saturday that the bodies of 3 cousins have just been identified. He had been trying to contact them different ways and had heard nothing. When I talked to him later, he told that one difficulty was that this many days later with the displaced people, swept away homes, and destroyed roads, it was difficult to find someone to identify the bodies that are being recovered. The grandmother – his mother’s sister I think – was found alive this past week.
Another piece of news from Asheville. Baptist Church vans are still in the Asheville area providing meals, showers, and coordinating places to stay. However, there are colds and flu going around in close quarters. My neighbor who had gone for a couple of weeks to work with them came home because he was very sick.
A third piece of news is that in some places, FEMA is withdrawing their people because of fears of attacks from “right wing militias”. I don’t know if there are “right wing militias” but there are some angry people who feel that the government has done little constructive to help and are more interested in funding wars and corruption.
Mark Robinson today spoke to a group of us and said that Republicans are working hard to insure that westerners can vote and are working with local groups to make sure that people can vote.
The ones who are still alive anyway.
One of the YouTubers mentioned that bodies will be found under the mud for a very long time. Entire families swept away, many people were asleep and never knew what hit them. I doubt there will ever be a proper body count or identification.
I am sorry for your Sunday School man, very hard news. I am glad they found the Grandmother.
True – some missing may never be found.
He was stoic about it, but you could tell it was hard.
They’ve got to still be walking around in a state of shock.
Oh how heart wrenching.
I sure hope Mark Robinson gets elected governor, especially after the recent attacks on him by the Left. In a recent interview, General Flynn twice called him out by name as the only official in Raleigh who he was able to talk to and got an immediate material response from, despite the limited powers of his current position as Lt. Governor.
Anyone have ideas how to get feet of sand out of pool?
Looks like using a vacuum is the way to go… here is one guy explaining what he had to do after hurricanes blew sand into his pool:
Shop Vac is specifically made to vacuum either dry debris or wet debris. Even vacuums up water, but it’s tiny had to frequently be emptied.
Be careful with extension cords!! Extremely cautious, please!
Clean the filter frequently.
I searched for mud sucking pumps…got a lot links. The one below talks about their use.
https://www.unitedrentals.com/project-uptime/equipment/trash-pumps-8-things-know-when-choosing-or-using-one
A quick google…can’t vouch for its veracity but am thinking it might be worth having a pool maintenance company or person do it:
To remove hurricane sand from your pool, use a pool vacuum set to “waste” to suck up the sand from the bottom of the pool, making sure to brush the sand into piles first to facilitate vacuuming; regularly check and backwash your filter as needed to prevent clogging, and repeat the process until the pool is clear; if the sand is particularly heavy, consider lowering the water level slightly to improve vacuuming efficiency.
Here is a video…
We’re mid-way between Tampa and Orlando, just north of Interstate 4 in Polk County.
Strong sustained winds for 10+ hours (60-90 mph) and a ton of rain (no idea how much, still standing after 72 hours – has now drained). Lost a small tree, lost a wood fence, lots of small limbs/twigs. We never lost power. Walked a couple of neighborhoods early Thursday morning, seems like similar damages.
Neighbors all helping each other. Nice to see.
Daughter about 30 miles west just got power back last night. Pool cage damaged by large tree limbs. All safe otherwise.
Drove some rural areas this morning, similar minor-looking damages widespread. Biggest problem is water. All the lakes overflowing, pastures saturated.
REMINDER: DO NOT DRIVE THROUGH STANDING WATER!!
Gas becoming more readily available each day. Prices a few pennies less than pre-storm.
Now – an important question (apologies if it’s been answered):
SUNDANCE – ARE YOU AND FAMILY OKAY? NEED ANY HELP?
Prayers are with all those in need.
Polk Cnty neighbor here, south of I-4. Tornado touchdown 3 miles away, but our neighborhood mostly intact; branches down but no trees or big limbs. Power stayed on.
Some strong prayers at work, neighbor! Good to hear you’re okay.
May God bless all those affected, and may He forgive this nation for -largely- turning its back on Him.
The skies over east TN are filled with chem trails. The patterns are a tick toc toe grid. The 4 Reich Fascists spraying our skies like we are exterminatable bugs have improved the trails. They imitate clouds faster now. They used to look like disintegrating chem trails before. Now, they look more like clouds.
I thought your legislature and gov outlawed that.
They did, but the Baddies just keep going.
This is so sickening.
I agree and was taking pictures (of them) the other day and an article on gateway showed up right after!
glad more people are becoming aware, at the least.
Live in Coastal Virginia. We have groups that are ( and have been) getting together and collecting aid for the people of Western North Carolina and making deliveries where needed. We believe it is important to keep in mind that they will need help long past the “ news cycle “. Winter is just around the corner.
“We believe it is important to keep in mind that they will need help long past the “ news cycle “. Winter is just around the corner.”
This.
Their grief and displacement have just begun.
Judy’sSon: I live in Hampton. Any groups on the Peninsula gathering winter clothes and other supplies for WNC? I and others want to give and help.
A list of organizations would help. I’m not on Facebook
Western North Carolina here. I currently have water and electricity but still no internet. Spectrum is a criminal Enterprise they sent me a bill a full bill with one week of no service on it and now I’m going to have a couple more if something doesn’t happen soon. I’m sitting in my back of my car
Outside of this community building that has Wi-Fi.
My town did not get flood damage but major wind damage , it appears that a tornado came through parts of town and the damage is monumental. Indescribable
Power companies every where doing good work as quickly as safely possible.
Some towns totalled and have toxic mud everywhere
More later.
Good to hear from you Littleflower481.
Littleflower, 3 1/2 years ago I was out of power and internet for ten days because of the massive ice storm that pretty much shut Oregon down; my son/dil for 14 days. The utilities did credit us for the time without service, but that credit came a month or so later on a following cycle–I suppose simply because the “current bills” were already in the pipeline. It did lag, but we eventually got full credit for the days without service.
It’s not easy when you’re in the middle of things, waiting for something (anything!) to “get better”. Eventually it does, but knowing that doesn’t change what’s happening today, I realize.
It will get better, Littleflower.
Those Spectrum contractors were back in my neighborhood today before the curfew set in surveying the damage to their hastily installed fiberoptic line no one wants or asked for.
I am sure they will get a sweet chunk of disaster monies to reconnect those who have the service.
After hearing your dealings with them and the destruction of the neighborhood mascot gopher tortoise burrow in my ‘hood that company can pound sand, hard.
Many prayers to you, Lf481.
I’ve scanned every comment just looking for your name. Ive been worried about you Little Flower. Good to see you!
I have to go to the to the Publix grocery store to get on the internet so usually get here once a day.
Still no internet I’ve been out of work the whole time.
I’m exhausted and feel like I need a vacation even though I haven’t worked in three weeks. I think it’s just mental exhaustion mostly. Going through a disaster like this is very exhausting
This is utterly devastating for the entire region. I knew you lived in, or close to Asheville. We used to live in Otto and my son and granddaughter are in Sylva/Franklin. I hope your home and family/friends survived this tragedy. Please try to get some rest. I know you have to be mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted. I’m praying for you and all of E.TN/WNC❤
I posted this in the open thread but some people here may be interested in this
.
Ryan Hall hopes to release a brand new video on his “The Y’all Squad” channel on YouTube where his crew plans to show y’all what all they’ve been able to do with all the donations for hurricane relief they thankfully received
Keep checking until it’s up, and meantime find a box of kleenex as many of the victims of Helene and Milton will have frightful stories to recount their recent disaster experience.
@yallsquad on YouTube
Click to see if the new video has been uploaded
https://youtube.com/@yallsquad?si=bG_JYnXMxe02YIX8
https://jameshowardkunstler.substack.com/p/lawfare-is-jihad-against-our-country?utm_medium=web&triedRedirect=true
I still haven’t heard directly from my brother who lives down a mountain holler in WNC. There’s still no phone service. But his daughter sent word and pictures that they are okay. She has a home on the roadway side and his is across the river. Her tiny home floated onto an adjacent property and the bridge to his small community washed downstream a bit. Her pictures show that the neighbors got together with their own equipment and moved her home and also the bridge back onto their foundations.
What a happy report. Thank your for bringing it to us.
from high desert prairie dweller, h.
Bradenton here. Thanks loads for the prayers everyone! And thank you Sundance for…well, everything you do to give us the encouragement and strength to carry on.
I have to give you credit for setting such a fine example of perseverance. With God’s grace and your mentoring, me and my family and quite a few friends have been able to trudge thru this. Not giving in to the fear and uncertainty but facing each challenge head strong has been one of your most valued gifts! Too busy to be worried.
We prepared well but fell short in a couple of ways. Learned a lot and will be even better prepared next time. We followed in your footsteps and once we were all safe and secure, set about helping and feeding others.
Power restored Saturday. County working around the clock to restore services and provide support. Prior to power being restored the State set up gas distribution sites, I waited 2+ hours in line to be told they wouldn’t fill any 5 gallon tanks for generators, just 10 gals for vehicles only. Was down to less than 1/8 of a tank in generator and power came on. Whew! Chalk up another blessing!
There is a long way to go before things resemble normal but everyone is contributing in they most beautiful and meaningful ways. Sure that our community will come out of this stronger and more faithful.
God is so good!
Glad you’re good and the community is recovering.
My husband and I were planning on staying at thr Compass Margaritaville on Manatee and have reservations in 3 weeks. Been trying to assess whether they’ll be open by then. See lots of pictures of destroyed mobile homes, and the damage on Anna Maria is heartbreaking.
Hoping next year gives you guys a reprieve.
Thanks Bewildered. I am heartened by the community and county response. You may be able to visit in 3 weeks at the curtent rate of restoration. Many will take much longer to recover but seems several businesses have resources that individuals lack. I am east if I-75 and more and more restaurants, grocery stores, gas stations, etc. open every day. West side is much more challenged with all the sand brought in by the surge. Beaches are still closed to enable debris removal and other efforts. They were devastated. Hope you get to visit.
Have a friend in Anna Maria have seen or heard nothing from there. Any locals covering there?
Thank you Sundance!
My home is in the Hickory/Lenoir, foothills NC area. I hear the helos flying in and out of the Hickory airport.
Last week my son went up to the area of a little community of Barnardsville. He spent 2 days digging out the crawl space of an old converted barn home that had filled with mud and the floor joists had to be removed. He got the job done and a construction crew that had rolled in and had half a day for work in the area put down the vapor barrier and replaced the joists. The couple who own the home are in their 70’s and everyone wanted to get them back into the home. He saw much activity from the linemen, the DOT and the forest service, getting on it to restore the infrastructure.
He said that is is alot of chaos and people everywhere. Everybody is carrying. You will be stopped by law enforcement if you are trying to get in the affected areas and if you have an out of state tag most likely you will be turned away.
My daughter and I volunteered at a church very close to the Hickory airport that has been taking supplies, sorting and packaging them up to take up to the distressed communities, one of which is Barnardsville, north of Asheville. The pastor said that in the Barnardsville area ther is about 100 homes that are unlivable. There is another town, Pensacola that has about 500 homes destroyed or unlivable. The only way to get in there right now is a side by side.
The unbelievable generosity of the people who had donated items of all sorts made me cry. Just unbelievable and this is only one group of Christians doing what they can.
Eric Church, country star from Caldwell County and Luke Combs from Asheville and others are performing at a concert in Charlotte with all the proceeds going to the area.
Oh yeah Paula Deen came to Boone and Samaritans Purse to present a check. Ugh. Everybody wants a piece of the publicity. I heard they turned volunteers away that day.
Billy Graham is a legend in NC and the Graham family too. SP is a good organization doing good work but I recently learned they are in south america giving humanitarian aid to the people coming here illegally. Leaves a bad taste in my mouth – if you dont feed the animals they wont come in droves demanding food.
South America story could be true — or not –.
The evil One would be thrilled if he could wrangle a hit on SP so as to diminish their effectiveness. Would put nothing past that vile thing.
harrieth3 – Definitely true as I read a news article discussing it and Franklin Graham was defending it as only humanitarian aid, not helping them to get into the US.
I don’t post hearsay. I think you owe me an apology.
I said nothing untrue about the organization. And I’m allowed to have my opinion of what they are doing. You must be a Pharisee type.
Yes, Samaritan’s Purse provides humanitarian aid to migrants in South America and at the U.S.-Mexico border:
South America
Samaritan’s Purse offers food, shelter, backpacks, and other essentials to migrants fleeing violence or famine in South America. For example, in La Donjuana, Colombia, Samaritan’s Purse provides a shelter for migrants, including a place to rest, a hot meal, and a shower. They also offer small business training and startup resources.
U.S.-Mexico border
Samaritan’s Purse provides food, water, and shelter to migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.
$807,479: William Franklin Graham III, Board Member, Chairman, Pres, CEO. $383,400: Christopher Weeks, Chairman, Affiliate Office. $361,045: Brian Gresham, Director, OCCA Affiliate Office. $359,532: Ronald Wilcox, COO.Dec 9, 2022
Ugh.
We’re in Bradenton and only lost electricity for five hours. Internet and tv off. As is the office. We list many large branches and all the leaves on our trees. Piles are five feet tall and have half the back to clean up. Husband stocked up on gas and propane and I froze all the food. The wind was awful and worried about flooding. Our street had four feet for four days. We were prepared and blessed!
They arrested a one man militia. Some one who just lost everything.
East TN / S VA / WNC
Power is back on for almost everyone, unless you are up a washed out road.
Municipal water is back on in general in the northern affected counties.
Elizabethton is up and functioning normally.
Internet is still very unreliable. I agree about Spectrum – it has been a completely unacceptable performance.
Starlink as a backup is on, but it has a very, very limited signal range. Surprisingly limited.
It seems as though every local church has pallets of water stacked and available to anyone who needs drinking water. Also locally, the donation storerooms are overflowing.
I think the Asheville and Unicoi and more southern areas might be better destinations for any additional donations. One pastor was down to pleading for congregants to find people in need, because there simply is no more available storage space.
Life is generally normal for most who did not suffer a big property loss.
Folks are setting up local cash donation buckets by name for some people who did get washed out.
The washed out roads are a big issue. Trips that took forty five minutes to an hour now take two using the workarounds. That’s tough for people who used to drive those routes to work.
Given some of the extreme road damage, that roads issue is going to take months to resolve – but the road crews are visibly working very hard.
Schools around here are back in session, and they are working with families whose roads are a barrier to make sure those needs are being addressed.
Neighbors have come together to fix very local road washouts through community efforts, not always waiting on outside help.
Apparently there is a mispositioning of supplies – generators are in Bristol that should have gotten to Erwin but that are now just sitting in Bristol because they really should have been shipped to and then out of Charlotte.
FEMA did finally arrive, in the form of sitting out at tables to assist with filling out assistance applications. They are getting some limited traffic, but it is apparent there is no big crush to use their services.
They are not being harassed or threatened at all. Mostly they are just ignored.
Apparently they must have received some “cultural sensitivity training” about mountain people having to overcome their pride to request or receive help. LOL. Thanks for the stereotyping.
Hesitate to file an application? Don’t be too proud, go ahead and just do it. . .
Hmmmm. Nah.
So that is all mostly good news.
The bad news – the aerial injection spraying program is back, blatant, and being done with a vengeance.
Despite it being illegal.
That’s been my experience, as well. FEMA is good at pushing paper. Real time assistance comes from our neighbors and the community.
While I despise the current administration, FEMA acts as a backup to state and local response. They only provide what is requested by the local emergency responders. Our biggest problem in NC was our governor Cooper has his head where the sun never shines and is incapable of leading a constructive response. He’s focused on destruction of our states best places.
Yes. I’ve been impressed by his ABSENCE, and not in a good way.
This elephant never forgets.
Roy Cooper? I’ve decided that he is being held hostage. No one has seen or heard from him in weeks.
Incompetent!
Genera; Flynn mentioned that Mark Robinson was the only man in Raleigh that answered his calls and then immediately followed through with material support. And as Lt. Governor, that’s not even his are of authority.
True that FEMA is supposed to be support for the state, as DeSantis pointed out so well. The problems arise when they act like bulls in a china shop and insist only allowing only their few selected contactors to work.
Praying for all affected by the devastation. God bless all who are helping and those who are trying to help but being shut down by our traitorous gubmint regime.
This is a test post only.
Hi, NCFarmGirl. I’m a Montana farm girl. (Waving…)
My area got power back 3 days ago. Still have unreliable and sporadic cell reception. They are telling us they will have the lake cleaned up in 8 weeks. People here are helping each other. No one is expecting any help from the state or federal government.
The cleanup of the Lake Lure debris is speculated to cause a significant increase in the death count. God be with those folks doing the cleanup and what they most likely encounter….a horrific job at best.
🙏🏻 🎚 🙏🏻 ✝️
I’m in Flat Rock. Do Lake Lure residents go to Hendersonville for major shopping? If so, can they even get out to the west? From videos I’ve seen, in some places the roads appear to be gone.
We volunteer at a food pantry in Hayesville NC, west of the damaged areas. Our supplies, along with those of sixteen other W NC pantries, come from the MANNA warehouse in Swannanoa. That warehouse was destroyed, along with nearly all its contents. MANNA has sort-of reorganized in a new location and is going to resume reduced deliveries in a week.
Since much of what MANNA distributes comes in their doors as donations from NC grocers, it goes without saying that MANNA is taking in very little foodstuffs and HBA right now.
The main grocery chain in W NC is Ingles, based in Black Rock (east side of Asheville). They took a good hit to their warehouse and, of course, many of the roads from Black Rock to the west are now impassable. Our local Ingles has more bare shelves than it does inventory, and has been forced to cash-only sales, as their credit card processing system is centralized in Asheville, where data lines are damaged.
Meanwhile we food pantry volunteers have been digging into our pockets, and the reserves of our churches, to have some foodstuffs available. Our little operation serves 150 families every week, BTW.
I meant to type Black MOUNTAIN, not Black Rock. Wondering why I have Black Rock on my mind ….
This video from 7 or 8 October shows the Swannanoa / Black Mountain area:
In Arden, NC working on basement tear-outs with some great churches and MNA Disaster Recovery (PCA). World is mostly back to normal here with power, water (still under boil water notice), and restaurants open. Damage is highly non-uniform with areas/individual structures affected concentrated flooding. Many downed trees in area. Local sheriff is reporting thousands dead or missing in the area that are not included in official counts because not yet recovered or officially confirmed deceased.
This morning I spoke with a lady who lives just SE of Asheville. She said as soon as Helene hit, neighbors had immediately shared generators as refrigerators were so quickly out, but that seemed a long time ago. Folks west of Asheville that are able to drive to grocery stores in Asheville are glad shelves are not so bare but could not imagine the food shortage in western North Carolina for those with no means to travel. As expected, she said toilet paper prices were ridiculously sky high. Flooding had quickly receded but lake levels have risen unimaginably high. She tried to describe the fallen tree pattern and to wonder length of time for such massive cleanup.
From the WNC area. Thank you to the Lord we only lost power for a day…Dillard Road to Highlands took a HUGE hit but now one lane is open.
I have seen a lot of snitzy comments on line with people whining about the only new clothes with tags on request as opposed to used.
Send the used clothes to your church. These folks have NO POWER to do wash!!! There is NO TIME to GUESS sizes for the kiddos at the distribution centers. As a retired RN the clothes must be pristine so unwanted germs and bugs cannot be “passed” .
Don’t mean to be harsh but conditions warrant what will help the folks suffering most.
Do you know anything about area around Sapphire, Lake Toxaway, Whitewater Rd?
Lake Toxaway had a long power outage with a lot of large trees down.
Sapphire out of power for either 4 or 5 days.
Both had water issues because of wells with no power. Not familiar with Whitewater Rd. Highlands full on open as of Friday.
Scary ride if you are coming up from the Atlanta side once you get past Scaly Mt…shocking rock slide on the Dillard road …open one lane only with electronic light traffic control.
Thank you all for your stories and reports.
Thank you Sundance for providing a place for people to post what they have seen, know and read.
The only thing most of us know and see, is our government lying about what is actually happening while spending 100s of Billions, if not Trillions on people who have entered our country illegally while letting American suffer. Then there is the Trillions we are giving other nations even while we have Americans suffering due to disasters around the country.
The actions of the current administration, especially Harris is past HORENDOUSLY HORRID.. The hit list that Harris put out of politicians who voted against FEMA monies was such a mockery. The bill that was voted down containing FEMA monies wasn’t even 5% FEMA. WAY Over 50% contained monies for other countries, including more Billions for Ukraine.
Thank you all for your contributions to this thread and to the many organizations helping the people affected.
For all the Treepers affected by these disasters May The Good Lord Keep You All In His Comforting Hands.
Northeast TN here between Mountain City and Butler. Without power for 10 days and without water for 14 because we are on a cistern system and a small landslide buried some tubing . We finally hiked up there and after two days of working at it got new tubing laid and have running water!
Our gravel road out to the paved road was too gutted and rutted for me to drive out in my car. My husband could make it out, barely, in his Jeep. A huge tree fell over the road..filled with hornets! My husband and our neighbor had to first kill the hornets before they could chainsaw the tree
No road crew has been seen yet and our neighbor who has a backhoe did his best to grade over the ruts. Still not great but maybe I can get out in my car now.
We survived with camp stove , camp toilet, and water we had stored in a 60 gallon tank.
A creek runs right beside our house and somehow it never went over the banks. Right up to the top and the brown rushing water , with waves and booming sound of boulders crashing together was very unnerving. If it had breached the banks we may have lost our house.
As it was we only lost stuff in our fridge because we didn’t get our gas powered generator up and running in time to charge the solar batteries so they could run two chest freezers and a standup fridge/freezer. For several days we’re charging the solar batteries on trickle charge from car chargers. Took way too much time. Learned a hard lesson.
Watauga lake, once so beautiful and clean, is destroyed. Fire trucks, propane tanks, entire homes now lie at the bottoms of the lake and much debris collecting in the coves. Awful
Heard they had to open two gates at the Watauga Dam
Saw a chinook fly over and an unmarked black helicopter. Local deputies came out twice to do a wellness check and deliver supplies like bottled water.
No FEMA reps have been sighted.
We lost our home AND all our possessions (except our car and a garden hoe) when the Nolichucky River smashed out of the gorge south of Erwin, TN. We got out with the clothes (and fur) on our backs, and that was it. One of the female posters who have ruined Free Republic had the audacity to accuse me of ‘hyperbole’, so here I am. A TON of truth on this thread…keep up the good work!