OT: Helene
- Thread starter andyt
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About a third of the USGS monitoring stations on the upper French Broad are out.
TheBigKahuna
Well-known member
I heard through the grapevine they drive over 10 hours, went up Friday afternoon and spent several hours trying to to find alternate routes, most roads were closed. Finally gave up and drove back to Central NC. They're not bright. Returned tp several "I told you so".
Fayettenamcanesfan
Well-known member
Pucking Lamplighter
Well-known member
My best friend is a communications contractor who's been working around Cherokee for the past 7 months. We've been buddies since 1971 and we communicate by text or phone call every week. I've had no word from him in any form. The cell service where he's based is sketchy at best (which is some of why he's there), though his father had a message relayed by a guy on his crew that he's safe and trying to find a route home.
The town at Chimney Rock is devastated with roads washed out and feet of soil and debris feet deep in places. The infrastructure damage will take years to correct and the upcoming Fall foliage tourism dollars won't be coming this year either. Recovery for that area is going to be some tough sledding.
Jim
The town at Chimney Rock is devastated with roads washed out and feet of soil and debris feet deep in places. The infrastructure damage will take years to correct and the upcoming Fall foliage tourism dollars won't be coming this year either. Recovery for that area is going to be some tough sledding.
Jim
My son's crew escaped downtown Asheville on secondary and tertiary roads and found an Airbnb house somewhere near Statesville. Now we just have to figure out how to get them back to Denver today or tomorrow, but at least they found a place with power, water and cell service. We heard from our people in Boone and there's no good news, really. A couple of the main roads are blown out in places where the secondary roads are also cut off, so big chunks of the communities surrounding Boone are safe but isolated from resources. Keep WNC in your thoughts and prayers because there is not going to be a quick fix.
Fayettenamcanesfan
Well-known member
Yea. My daughter graduated from App in May and we moved her out of her apartment last month. It’s completely underwater now. Her old roommates have lost everything. Boone is in bad shape
Pucking Lamplighter
Well-known member
I heard from my buddy in Cherokee today. He said they already have water and power back up & running. Cell service exists in limited areas. They got lots of rain and some downed trees, but nothing like a little ways east of there. He's not planning on returning to the Raleigh area until Saturday, so more roads should be open by then. He says you don't need to go far to find devastation.
Jim
Jim
My son is actually winding his way to Raleigh tonight since it just ended up being easier for them to fly out of RDU tomorrow. Less couch surfing.
And that will close our little chapter, but sadly the cleanup is only just getting started and the death toll in Buncombe County alone has gotten over 40. I've still got some cousins up that way, but they're safe and set up to survive off the grid anyway ... long story, don't ask.
And that will close our little chapter, but sadly the cleanup is only just getting started and the death toll in Buncombe County alone has gotten over 40. I've still got some cousins up that way, but they're safe and set up to survive off the grid anyway ... long story, don't ask.
This is a good idea. The Food Bank could use the help regardless. They're always in need of free labor.
If anybody is more in the mind of a donation and want to feed people in need, World Central Kitchen is up and running out of a BBQ joint in downtown Asheville and have been slinging meals for a couple of days now. With most of the restaurants shuttered in AVL, this kind of effort is going a long way to making sure locals and relief workers stuck in downtown just because it's dry have hot meals to eat.
dwind
Well-known member
I worked in food bank for a week during one of the coast disasters. Another guy and I kinda ran the place. I thought he was an employee and visa versa. The number 1 by far item requested was water. Also don’t forget dog and cat food. non perishables, no frozen food, canned soup is best. And watch out for scammers. We told all the contacts at the coast, churches, etc. to call ahead and give us a list of what the wanted plus a name. We’d get people in pickups in demanding water and food. Some were probably legit But others would take the food and water then sell it at the coast. The other problem was the friggin tv stations wanting interviews, filming and getting in our way. We kicked them out. It’s amazing how much space they can consume when trying to film or interview.
BTW, if you just want to donate cases of water or diapers (another primary need), Providence Baptist is running collections at their campus at 6339 Glenwood Ave Wednesday and Thursday evening from 3-8PM for anyone who wants to drop stuff off. Donations will be hauled up to Baptists on Mission's distribution area in Marion, NC and distributed to other communities from there.
The commercial district of Boone is getting cleaned up pretty quickly but there was a lot of damage to the lower side of 321 where those creeks cut through ... around the mall through that area around Lowe's. 321 is mostly wide open between Boone and Wilkesboro and DOT looks like they're finishing repairs to the damaged section of NC105 cutting off Boone from Linville which will make things a lot easier for both communities as that's a heavily traveled corridor. There's still a ton of damage to clean up but getting the primary roadways passable makes a huge difference. Ingles is a main supermarket in WNC and Upstate SC and their huge warehouse near Old Fort east of Asheville is fully operational again. That will help a lot as well. There's still a huge need for bottled water as almost everybody is either offline or on a boil before consuming notice.