09/29/2024
The magnitude of the destruction in the mountains and highlands of North and South Carolina and the number of people still in peril makes any loss in the "lowlands" more of an inconvenience. My family and I are safe. Our city was just inside the less threatened area of Helene. I am thankful and after doing little else than following the news this weekend, I offer this perspective:
Unless you are a first responder or have been given the task to travel to the mountains by some aid organization, stay off the western roads and highways. It keeps the traffic down to the benefit of those with a mission.
Many reliable news organizations have likened Helene to Katrina. There are significant differences. Louisiana is pretty much flat so water rescue, along with air support, was possible. In the mountains and highlands of the Appalachians, the water ways are part of the treacherous conditions. After Katrina, over 40,000 people sought shelter in the Superdome and Convention Center. There are no shelters of that size in our mountains. Flash floods and landslides continue to be a threat. I am NOT minimizing the impact of Katrina. I offer this perspective because so many people do not understand how different the mountain geography is from what they are accustomed to.
Communication is down. I fear that we will not know the extent of the loss of human life until days, if not weeks, after Helene roared through the southeast.
I have said this before and I will say it again, Brad Panovich Meteorologist is just about the most solid source of information at this time. After accurately predicting Helene, he is now using his platform to share information. I have not commented there because every comment of "we lost power but have no damage" and uninformed advice is just clogging up his feed.
And BTW, the most interesting piece of advice that Brad offered is this: right now the best way to communicate with your loved ones who have been unreachable is by TEXT message. He explained why yesterday: "Still little communication and almost zero cell service. If you read this from those areas or know someone there stick with text messaging, These messages only needs to ping a cell tower to go through. So don't send pics or videos, just text! This can work with almost no signal or service. Some landlines are actually working, but only a few."
If you can help, here is a resouce:
https://www.operation-airdrop.com/hurricane-helene?fbclid=IwY2xjawFmaRdleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHTJzrWahTVD1c4NpgQ_g92MuKdxAJpMbsMVcB3SPNM7dxVoP_O7h1wjcTA_aem_bUOgMEh4nwHdso5UAZojbg
Welcome to our dedicated landing page for Operation Helene, where we are mobilizing to provide critical assistance in response to Hurricane Helene. Our mission focuses on delivering essential supplies, hot meals, and support to communities affected by the storm. Here, you will find all the informati...
