I had to go pick something up for an event tomorrow and 2 of the roads I was to take were closed from flooding. I also discovered that 2 of our patio chairs that were removed off the deck and laying together on their side under a tree must have caught on something in the wind as the seats are torn. Guess we will be making a purchase in the spring. I had JUST gotten a new umbrella. Its dirty but hopefully ok.
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I was just going to say here in Ohio we have nothing compared to many overall but the wind is TERRIBLE. Started at 9am and hasn’t let down.
Hope you get your power back soon @toledo
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It looked like the river in my backyard with waves. I’ve been here for over 20 years and never seen anything like it. What a mess. Garage flooded to 12 inches. Fortunately we’re up on pilings. But husbands car flooded. Neighbor (not on pilings had 8 inches water in his house. But in 20 years I’ve never seen the water get close to his house.
Like my son said --“Spring cleaning came early!”
Friend in Tampa had her house flood 12-18 inches in water. Sigh.
But everyone is safe so we’ll dig ourselves out and continue on.
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ugh, looks like my mom’s assistive living facility on Tampa Bay didn’t fare to well, thankfully she was evacuated to Winter Park for the hurricane, no idea what’s going to with her now.
Anyone have any word on how Eckerd College campus made out? They are in a very low area and on the water but I haven’t seen anything mentioned about it yet.
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I didn’t think we had anything here, but one of those tornado warnings was real. Damaged or destroyed about 20 homes. One woman was in her trailer as it was tossed but her injuries are fortunately not life threatening
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We had several rounds of torrential rain yesterday and flooding to the south of us. We might be close to coming out of our drought.
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Thanks for the info JYM and thanks for letting us know you are still there and OK.
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A friend posted pictures of Cedar Key on Facebook. It’s devastating.
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My son just called from Asheville, NC. Things are really bad there. At least they may have cleared the road to Greenville, SC, so people can leave. They have no power, cell phone service, and there is a “boil” advisory for their water. He said gas stations are out of gas. Some homes in his neighborhood are flooded. His neighborhood has some type of system in place for providing help/sharing amongst neighbors. One woman is on oxygen, so they gave her their battery-operated generator that they were using to keep their refrigerator running. Unfortunately it only lasted through the night, so he just drove her to her daughter’s house, saying she would have to drive her to Greenville. My son said he wasn’t sure he had enough gas for the 60 mile drive. At least the daughter’s area had cell phone service, so he was able to call us and his phone partially charged on the trip. The hospital doesn’t have power. My son works there, but was told only essential workers had to report on Thursday. He has no idea what is going on there now.
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Kid goes to UNC Asheville. All kids safe in dorms with mild flooding. Kids very hungry. Having to allocate out sandwiches that the RAs are helping get together. No cell service and no power. Talked to my kid 20 seconds before signal died. Kids are going to firehouse to try and use their power and signal.
School shut down until after fall break.
We’re basket cases.
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Your son is a good person. 
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My sympathies go out to all of those who have been negatively impacted by the storm. Sadly, I am all too familiar with the experience.
In reading articles and comments about residents in these areas, it is clear that having such serious storms coming their way is very unprecedented. (The Asheville area, for instance, is usually in an area of relative safety from many natural disasters.) Thus, there is not as much familiarity with what to do in preparation for such an event.
This is too late for the victims of Hurricane Helene, but I just want to share a couple of resources for people who may not be as familiar with the steps involved in preparing for a natural disaster that could wipe out community services for an extended period of time.
This section from the Red Cross is the brief version of what to get in advance:
Gather Emergency Supplies
- Gather food, water, and medicine. Organize supplies into a Go-Kit and a Stay-at-Home Kit.
- Go-Kit: 3 days of supplies that you can carry with you. Include backup batteries and chargers for your devices (cell phone, CPAP, wheelchair, etc.)
- Stay-at-Home Kit: 2 weeks of supplies. Stores and pharmacies might be closed.
- Have a 1-month supply of medication in a child-proof container.
- Keep personal, financial, and medical records safe.
Some additional common steps mentioned in the links above include fueling up one’s vehicle before the storm and filling clean containers with water in the house (for drinking) and filling bathtubs and sinks with water (for washing). Additional tips include having battery-operated lanterns (and headlamps) along with a good store of batteries. Generally people in areas with more frequent storms will often keep a supply of bottled water and canned foods (with a manual can opener) on hand so that there isn’t always a mad rush in the days before a storm as the shelves can be pretty bare before an imminent hit. If one has a gas grill, have some extra propane on hand for grilling foods out of your fridge/freezer before they go bad. And when the Red Cross is mentioning financial records, that includes copies of your insurance policies with the contact info. If one has evacuated, it’s useful to have that info on hand to make a claim.
There’s other useful and more detailed info in the links (some of which has translations in multiple languages), particularly with respect to preparation of property and what to be doing after a storm hits.
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I’m a little concerned about my Aunt. In her mid 70s, never married, no kids, strained but more in contact lately with my Dad, only sibling. I call and text several times a year and see her every couple of years, which is more than anyone else in my family. (I like her a lot though! We just aren’t great communicators in my family)
She lives in TN, about an hour north of Asheville, but also has a remote cabin literally on top of a mountain near Brevard (an hour south of Asheville). She normally travels between the 2. Before the storm hit on Thursday, I texted and said I hoped she was in TN and I was thinking of her during the storm. I didn’t hear anything, which if she’s at the cabin isn’t unusual. There’s no cell service, no TV, and I thought no landline, etc. Yesterday I called and it went straight to voice mail. I figured she was at her cabin…
Then last evening, I get a call from my parents… Who are on a 2 month cruise to Australia and back. They only can call/text when in port. When they are on the ship, they can only receive texts and email. I was in a movie and didn’t recognize my Dad’s number (I don’t think he’s ever called me from his cell, always my moms) so I didn’t answer, but I got the voicemail, and at his request I called the friend.
Aunt’s friend in TN (I’m guessing in her 80s) was super concerned and has access to her house. She told my Dad her car is there, but she went through her house and couldn’t find her. Called hospitals, but nobody would let her know anything. My Dad said she has 2 cars - news to both of us - but said that it was to look like someone was always home there. (sounds like her) My Dad said he has the cabin’s landline (news to me) but that was on the ship - where he can’t call - but I think they will try to call when they get in the next port - 3pm today.
Friend DID say that another emergency contact got a text from her Wednesday (I texted Thursday) saying she was 20 min from the cabin. So I am guessing she is there, without power, and likely her cell is dead by now too. But if she has a landline - and it’s still working - wouldn’t you think she’d call SOMEBODY to say she’s OK? That’s what’s worrying me.
And I also haven’t heard back from my parents when I texted and emailed asking them to give ME the landline number, so I could call. Hopefully this will all be resolved, but I did tell the friend I would call her back when I knew something. She sounded so sweet and upset, and it’s now rubbing off on me - the upset-ness. Sweet is lost on me.
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Update. I called my sister who thinks she had the cabin landline. I called and it was just a fast busy signal which I’m taking (hoping) to mean all the landlines are down too and she can’t call.
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It’s very possible her landline is down; we’re 45 minutes south of Brevard and most of the landlines are really old at&t copper lines and tend to fail. I did see some posts about outages on those lines.
Thanks! I’m hoping that is it. And a tree didn’t fall on the cabin…
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It’s been days and days since we’ve had a check in from friends in Asheville. We are very concerned but hopefully they are safe but just without power/cell.
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