Agreed. World Central Kitchen is on the ground and providing much needed assistance. Not only in the way of food and water, but also helping with logistics. This is an unheard of situation for many communities and having guidance from experienced organizations is invaluable.
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We got our power back on yesterday! Still no internet, but cell service is getting better. People have been opening their homes for others to do laundry, charge phones and take a hot shower. One of our favorite small coffee shops has been trying to figure out how to make payroll this week after 6 days of no power; they had just gotten through the college summer slow down and had also given away all of their cold and frozen product to locals before it went bad. One little FB post about “if you could stop by and grab some coffee it would be great” blew up and saw an outpouring of support. They even made the news; they are now asking everyone to visit the other local small businesses and have been highlighting one an hour. Just one small story in the midst of devastation. So many local pilots have banded together to rescue people or get supplies to remote areas. The local farm stand I frequent has been coordinating donation runs up the mountain; they posted this morning they just got a shipment from Auburn University students. It’s been heartwarming to see everyone come together.
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I have to think about how these conditions have affected people who work. If you go to a location to work, you may not be able to get there. If you work from home, you may not have the resources (power or cell service or internet) TO work. Even hospitals are under dire conditions in some areas. It’s awful.
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It’s been a good long minute, but I feel as though after Hurricane Katrina that FEMA may have provided a one-time check…maybe $2000 or so? I can’t recall if it was to each household or to each taxpaying adult (I was a single adult living on my own), but there was some kind of financial assistance provided.
I’d be interested in hearing answers to this question for other areas, too, particularly the Asheville area. I know that the city of Asheville had stricter building code rules (at least as far as steep slopes) than Buncombe County (the county surrounding Asheville), and I’m unsure how the other counties in the area compared to these. (Someone above shared an article about the NC government really undercutting building code recommendations.)
My hypothesis is that building code policies will have higher standards, making rebuilding more expensive. It may even be disallowed on areas that exceed a certain slope that is currently allowed to be built upon. From bits and pieces I’ve been hearing, a decent percentage of people did not have flood insurance.
Thus, my guess is that the people who will stay are the ones that had flood insurance and/or sufficient wealth to rehab/rebuild their properties without insurance proceeds and are unafraid or doubtful of a reoccurrence (EDIT: or who did not flood). The ones without insurance, the ones who lived on slopes that are too steep to be rebuilt upon with new codes, the ones who worked for businesses in Asheville that won’t be able to reopen anytime soon…those are the ones who are likely to relocate permanently.
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H’s cousin in Hendersonville is doing okay, because his house doesn’t have any structural damage & it didn’t flood. It’s a challenging situation, but he will get through it. He is well positioned for the future, though … he is in lumber sales, so he’s going to be busy.
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There is a local plea in one of my facebook groups- someone’s daughter came home from Asheville and is 36 weeks pregnant. The hospital up there was apparently damaged and the drs office is closed. She was having great trouble here finding any practice that would take her, even under the circumstances, since she is beyond 30 weeks and (as of the last I saw) couldn’t access her medical records. Hopefully she is in an area now where her internet is fine and she can access her records on line!
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We have a doctor friend in Asheville and the stories he is sharing are beyond imagination. The hospital is overwhelmed and without capability to provide the care needed.
We have cabin rentals west of Asheville. Thankfully the renters left before the storm hit, otherwise we’d be frantic to learn of their status. We have no idea of the condition of the properties and that’s not a big concern at the moment since they’re unoccupied.
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Only 2% have flood insurance. I have no idea how many people are dealing with flooding. The bigger picture is the infrastructure, which includes roads, sewer, and water. My son and daughter-in-law are lucky, in that they will still have jobs (physician assistants), and their house (structure) is fine. I think they, as well as most people, are still in shock. It may take a while to assess and understand the damage. Also, seeing what their friends decide to do, will have an impact.
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Well, people are already making projections about the future of the city:
But, while Helene may have undone the idea of a “climate-safe” city, Tulane University’s Keenan does not believe it will ultimately dampen people’s desire to move here. “I think this is actually going to accelerate this process,” he said.
In a tragic twist, disasters like hurricanes “clean the slate” for developers and investors to come from outside and buy up properties relatively cheaply to redevelop into denser, more expensive homes, Keenan said.
“People have pretty short memories on this stuff. There are always people who are willing to take a risk,” he said. “This is the story of American post-disaster development.”
There’s also the sense that there is nowhere else to go.
The risks are everywhere. “Canada has fires, Vermont floods, West Virginia has severe drought, there are heat issues in Phoenix,” Dello said.
“Where do you run from climate change?”
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NC-er here. I doubt that very much. Our state legislature (the General Assembly) made national news a decade or so ago by “outlawing” sea level rise.
Most people don’t have flood insurance unless they are required to buy it by the Feds since most home insurance companies don’t offer it on the regular.
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We don’t live in the mountains but my husband is up there today checking on his mom’s little 2bedroom vacation cabin in Boone. We went up on Sunday when we had heard from neighbors and mucked out the half inch of mud that got in. Luckily we had area rugs we could just throw away. The house will need new duct work (flood waters and mud got down in it) and a new deck but it’s still standing. Still no power in the neighborhood. Trying not to clog the roads — there are so many good hearted people wanting to volunteer but it is overwhelming the already compromised roads and infrastructure.
Have friends and relatives in Asheville who have temporarily evacuated while the infrastructure is repaired. I think as soon as they have power and water and drivable roads all but the newcomers or people whose home were completely obliterated will go back. There’s a really powerful love there. #mountainstrong
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Oh, also, the internet rumor mill is starting up in full swing with crazy stories and conspiracy theories and AI photos — there’s one of a toddler and a puppy in a boat that is making the rounds, as if there weren’t enough authentically sad photos. Rutherford County, NC Emergency Management had to put out this press release to try to dispel some of the crap out there.
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Rutherford County, NC Emergency Management (Rutherford County, NC Emergency Management | Forest City NC)
·
Shared with Public
Press Release
October 3, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CLARIFICATION OF FALSE REPORTS REGARDING CHIMNEY ROCK RECOVERY EFFORTS
Rutherford County, NC – We are aware of several false reports circulating on social media on the situation in Chimney Rock. We want to address these rumors directly to ensure the public has accurate information.
NO GOVERNMENT SEIZURE OF CHIMNEY ROCK: There was no “special meeting” held in Chimney Rock on October 2nd involving discussions of the federal, state, or local governments seizing the town. These claims are entirely false. Town of Lake Lure and Chimney Rock officials met with NC Speaker of the House Tim Moore, NC Senator Tim Moffitt, NC Representative Jake Johnson, Sheriff Ellenburg, County Commissioner Chairman Bryan King, Emergency Management Director Frankie Hamrick, Brett Keeter with Congressman McHenry’s office, and other officials to offer our federal and state legislators an opportunity to hear directly from the Lake Lure and Chimney Rock Village officials as to the impact to their towns caused by Hurricane Helene and to request their support and advocacy for federal and state support. Our focus is solely on recovery, safety, and providing support to those affected by the storm. There have been no discussions or actions taken by the federal, state, or local government related to property seizure in Chimney Rock or any other part of Rutherford County.
CONFIRMED FATALITIES: Tragically, we have two confirmed fatalities because of the storm. Claims of “bodies everywhere” are completely unfounded. Our emergency services and professional contractors are working tirelessly to clear debris and ensure the safety of residents, and we will continue to provide support to those affected.
VOLUNTEER ASSISTANCE: While we deeply appreciate the community’s willingness to help, volunteer aid in the Chimney Rock area is not needed at this immediate time. Professional contractors are currently working to clear roads and debris, which is a necessary first step to create safe conditions for any future volunteer efforts. We will communicate when additional hands are needed and welcome volunteers once it is safe to do so.
HOW YOU CAN HELP: Right now, the most effective way to support our community is through monetary donations. 100% of these contributions will be used directly for disaster relief efforts in Rutherford County and are tax deductible. Donations can be made to the United Way of Rutherford County at www.unitedwayofrutherford.org
or the RHI Legacy Foundation at
www.rhilegacyfoundation.com.
We urge everyone to rely on verified information from official sources as we work through this challenging time. False rumors not only cause unnecessary distress but also hinder our recovery efforts. We will continue to provide updates to keep the community informed. For further information, please contact the Rutherford County Public Information Officer at Kerry.giles@rutherfordcountync.gov
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So y’all read those social media posts critically and vet it as best you can before you share anything.
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My sister in the Augusta burbs reported that electricity came back on last night. Still no internet, but she is very grateful for the A/C.
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How quickly do you expect them to take care of all the devastation? Curious. Snap of the fingers?
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Rural areas have the problems that the power distribution is generally on poles, and there are a lot of trees. Isn’t just rural areas, after Sandy lot of places in NJ took weeks to get their power back, mostly as the result of lines taken down by trees (since then, the utilities have had an aggressive program of cutting back trees that has really helped). I have heard the power companies recognized the forecast and had crews at the ready plus also invoked mutual assistance with utilities from all over. I remember after Sandy seeing crews from Texas, Florida, Lousiana and the the like working here.
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I have been hearing a lot of this, that FEMA isn’t doing anything (and all kinds of conspiracy theories about sending money to Ukraine, etc, etc). Lot of the people saying things like this have never been through a storm like this and don’t understand the logistics. With 6 states affected, where much of the damage is in rural areas that already have limited roads you can use to get there, it is monstruous. And it has only been a week. This isn’t a local storm that blew over trees that took out power lines, this was a storm that caused devastating floods and washouts that wrecked homes, businesses and basically disappeared (if that is really a word) often miles of utility poles that got washed away with everything else. When a storm hits in my area, they have to put the power lines back on the poles; down there you can bet the poles and wires are washed away.
It took years for a lot of the damage from Sandy in the northeast to get resolved, especially with homes.
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My SIL posted that photo on Facebook, and it took all of my restraint to keep my mouth shut. My H tells me that I am too quick to correct people lately … I think it’s a function of getting old & crotchety + getting tired of people who don’t think critically.
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That is not so certain. There are areas in NJ that have been flood plains forever, areas that are in the passaic river basin, that when we get massive storms every 5 or 10 years, flood out. The houses get rebuilt but rarely for example do they buy people out and make sure houses aren’t built in those areas. In Florida, I remember after Andrew there was this tremendous push to update standards for home construction in terms of hurricanes, yet I read an article several years ago that followed through, and alot of the proposed standards were never implemented, and a sizeable number of houses built after Andrew were not significantly better.
I am not sure all that many people will relocate (just my opinion). People often tend to be rooted to an area and even something like this doesn’t change their minds about going back. For people without flood insurance , likely they will get FEMA assistance to rebuild (it is usually low cost loans, but I have been told they sort of go away, how I don’t know).
Some will have the mentality that this was a once in a hundred year event, that in Western NC the last event was like 1916, and since then until today it has been no problem. I suspect even as bad as this is most people will rebuild if prior experiences with NJ are any indication.
I think for people to move it will take having another big event or a lot of smaller ones that cause significant damage for them to finally say enough is enough.
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D’s MiL has been spreading some of the nonsense on Facebook. It’s been so hard to not respond to her, but I know it wouldn’t do any good. One of the photos she shared was already labeled by Fb as a fake, and that’s led to more nonsense about how “they” don’t want us to know the “truth.”
In the past, I’ve addressed some of the MiL’s nonsense with her son in an indirect way so that he wouldn’t feel as if I was attacking her. It actually worked a few times, so I’ll try it again.
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I know for a fact, the National Guard is in Southeast Georgia, along with other support agencies. They are living in temporary tents and working around the clock to clear roads and check on residents in rural areas.
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