yea here is the text my power company sent late yesterday: “LEC; Make plans some outages will persist well into next week. Widespread catastrophic damage to grid. More crews from Ohio and Fla arriving tonight to help.” my neighbor is a linesman for Duke power and I caught him coming home for a few hours of sleep yesterday. He said everything is fucked. It isn’t a repair job it is a rebuild the entire grid job.
These came across my Facebook feed. Photos from the roof of the Erwin hospital as it was being evacuated
I just talked to my dad who was able to wave down some tree guy in a small company car that was coming to the other houses in his court so he may be able to get the tree taken care of in the next few days hopefully. There was a rumor yesterday that they were going to cut water so everyone freaked out and my dad gathered gallons and gallons of water, I guess from the tap, and has it stored. They did cut water today and it will be off for 24-48 hours according to the mayor.
I went to Lake Lure for a weekend over the summer, it's a really nice spot. The only positive to take away from that video is that almost all the homes there are vacation houses. But that is probably hundreds of millions of dollars in destruction in just a few square miles. I saw some photos of Chimney Rock town and the main street was buried in three feet of mud.
Have friends in statesboro, family in Asheville and in Greenwood SC. All are obviously struggling right now and likely to be without power for another 3-4 days+. Wild that the damage is that widespread to areas that aren't really "beach" spots. When was the last time a hurricane cause so much widespread damage for relatively non-coastal areas?
Fuck that sucks. Hot springs was a cool spot to rest and refresh on the AT. Stopped there several times when I was in scouting
This is probably the best on-the-ground video I've seen of the flooding in Tennessee. The river is running through houses. And this is not the high water mark, because the roads those cars are on in the video ended up being completely submerged.
We were without power for 12 days from Sandy in PA. We were kind of an isolated pocket but it sucked. Not in any way trying to be Aptos, just first thing that popped into my head.
This afternoon Buncombe County, NC (Asheville) reported they have had 30 confirmed fatalities. Total is at least 113: Florida - 13 Georgia - 23 South Carolina - 27 North Carolina - ≥46 Tennessee - 2 Virginia - 2
oh I see they ran the story about estimates being changed after Ian between shitty domestic Florida carriers, public adjusters, and the independent adjusters who get paid a percentage of the estimates they write, there aren’t really any good guys to root for
The Tennessee fatality number is up to at least 4 from news stories I've read. The number of confirmed missing is over 100 now. I'm sure its way more than that in NC.
Update while I have a little battery. Power still off. Has been since Friday around 10am. 99% of my city has lost power. Surrounding cities pretty much the same. Thousands of trees down. I smell really bad. I spent the last two days raking up debris from down trees in my yard. The sound of generators in my neighborhood rocked me to sleep. I’ll post some pics of my neighborhood here in a few.
I know it's been discussed in here about the lack of news coverage and I know one of the big reasons is a complete lack of cell service. A good friend of ours husband is a firefighter with water rescue training. They went into Western NC to help with water rescues. She went over 24 hours without hearing anything from him, was very concerned as you can imagine. One of them from their team had to make their way into Tennessee to get enough service to send a message back home to the families that they were all safe.
I don’t know nearly enough about it either way to say for sure but IAs aren’t exactly known for being the most honest dudes either. I thought there was a suit going on over all this but idk where it’s at. My firm is still staying mostly away from Florida so it’s not really something we think about a ton tbh
This is a widespread problem in at least three TN counties as well. My sister went to sign up to volunteer at one of the community centers housing displaced people, and they told her they would email her with info about when they needed help because they can't make phone calls. That also means people who need help can't call in either.
link to the story https://www.cbsnews.com/news/florida-whistleblowers-hurricane-ian-insurance-60-minutes-transcript/ it’s happening all the time. I’ve got a case of my own where the field adjuster didn’t know his estimate had been changed until I was taking his depo. He was furious. For no reason whatsoever Universal took out the cost of permits, reduced the cost of the roof replacement, and removed the estimated cost of EMS. The shit these carriers keep getting away with is absurd.
a lot of people don’t know this but the whole state economy of Florida is just people running little scams also that’s sort of capitalism now that I think of it
Anybody heard from Shiggityshwo ? Hasn't posted since Thursday #North Carolina Tarheels #Atlanta Braves
i do not. hasn’t posted on our home board either. i am sure he is fine don’t think he was in any super dangerous areas
Another big reason is local news and journalism has been relatively obliterated. You would get more coverage simply with journalists in places.
A guy in the next county over was picking up limbs in his driveway when a tree fell and killed him. What a horrible way to go. https://www.wvva.com/2024/09/29/tazewell-county-man-killed-fallen-tree/
They really really need to have a nationwide push towards moving major utilities underground. Also having HV, LV, copper telecom, and fibre telecom on the same poles is insane
Living in the mountains is fine if you’re up high. Not so good if you’re down in the hollers and by the creeks/rivers. The rain comes down the mountainside and the hollers act like a funnel. It’s a bad time.
They looked at moving all power lines underground where I live and the price per mile was crazy. Also all houses had to have updated electrical so some older houses would have to be rewired by the homeowners.
Im my city in the midwest, they have move almost the entirety of the city(40k people) to underground utilities over the last 20 years. We have a local utility provider though. Brought new electrical services to the homes and the only thing the homeowner had to pay was the cost of a new electrical panel if a new one was required(material only). Nice not to have to worry about losing power. One of the few intelligent things we've done.
The amount of angry MAGA folk and Russian bots on Twitter screaming about no federal response/biden on vacation/kamala turning the hurricane machine up to 11 is crazy.
Anti MAGA and don't have Twitter but I'm questioning the response as well as the coverage. A lot of people are in trouble and still need a lot of help. Hope it's coming.
Got a guy claiming Tallahassee set off electromagnetic bombs to try and shift the storm away from them. Also "NOT ONE AMERICAN DOLLAR SHOULD GO TO ANOTHER COUNTRY BEFORE THIS IS CLEANED UP".
The Biden-Harris Administration took significant proactive measures to support state and local preparation and response measures in advance of Hurricane Helene making landfall. As the storm continues to track north, President Biden and Vice President Harris remain focused on life-saving and life-sustaining response efforts throughout the Southeast. The President and Vice President are closely monitoring these efforts and are receiving regular briefings, including today, from senior Administration officials, including Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criswell. Administration officials have been in contact with state and local officials before and during the storm and will continue to coordinate together during recovery efforts. At the President’s direction, FEMA Administrator Criswell is traveling to Florida this afternoon to assess the damage alongside other state and local officials. Administrator Criswell will also travel to Georgia and North Carolina in the coming days. President Biden and Vice President Harris are praying for those who lost loved ones and for everyone impacted by this storm. Although the storm has weakened, the situation remains extremely dangerous, and the Administration continues to urge residents to heed the warnings of local officials and evacuate immediately if told to do so, as flooding and other hazards may still affect the region. Consistent with the President’s direction for a robust and well-coordinated Federal response, the Administration has taken swift action to support Hurricane Helene preparedness, response, and recovery efforts. Specific actions taken include: Approved Emergency Declarations Before Landfall Before Helene made landfall, the Governors of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina submitted emergency declaration requests that President Biden swiftly approved. These declarations authorized FEMA to provide assistance for emergency measures to save lives, protect property, public health and safety, and fund other emergency response measures. The Federal government proactively pre-positioned personnel and resources across the region before Hurricane Helene made landfall, including power restoration teams for temporary emergency power, search and rescue equipment, meals, water, generators, and equipment to assist communities and states with impacts from the storm. The Administration, through the Department of Health and Human Services, declared a Public Health Emergency for the states of Florida and Georgia. This gives the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) health care providers and suppliers greater flexibility in meeting emergency health needs of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. Supporting Ongoing Emergency Response Efforts At the President’s direction, before Helene made landfall, 1,500 Federal personnel were deployed to the region. Urban Search and Rescue has deployed a total of 14 teams (940 personnel) to affected states. In Florida, eight teams are positioned to respond, and all are equipped with Swift Water Rescue Capabilities. In Georgia, two teams with water capability have been deployed to support rescue operations. In North Carolina, four teams all equipped with Swift Water Rescue Capabilities are in place. The U.S. Coast Guard crews will continue to respond with vessels and aircraft to assist search and rescue activities. Approximately 8,000 personnel are working on the Coast Guard response. They will continue to respond to urgent distress calls to save lives and assist those impacted by the storm. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has two teams prepositioned to provide temporary emergency power, with additional personnel deployed and other are prepared to deploy if needed. In addition to temporary emergency power, personnel will assist the states with infrastructure assessments, debris management and temporary roofing assistance as needed. They have activated six emergency operation centers in the region to coordinate operations. The Department of Health and Human Services deployed two Health and Medical Task Forces to assist hospitals and other critical care facilities with any impacts as a result of the storm. FEMA’s Surge Capacity Force is activated, which enables the deployment of additional disaster staff within the Department of Homeland Security and across the Federal interagency to assist in the areas impacted by the hurricane. The Federal government pre-staged more than 2.7 million meals, 1.6 million liters of water, 50,000 tarps, 10,000 cots, and 20,000 blankets in the region to support sheltering needs in impacted communities. FEMA pre-positioned tanker trucks with 70,000 gallons of diesel fuel and 40,000 gallons of gasoline to surge to impacted communities once the storm has passed to help alleviate any fuel shortages. Prior to the storm, FEMA also helped source hundreds of ambulances to assist with the movement of any patients out of impacted hospitals or other facilities. Supporting Communities and Infrastructure Following the Storm’s Impact The Department of Energy’s Energy Response Organization is activated and closely monitoring impacts and restoration efforts related to Helene, including power, fuel, and supply chain interruptions. Via the Electricity Sub-Sector Coordinating Council, the Department also works continuously with electric utilities across the country to strengthen post-storm power restoration efforts. The Environmental Protection Agency is working closely with Federal, state, local, and Tribal partners to help protect water systems, prepare for debris management, and ensure facilities, including Superfund sites, maintain critical public health and environmental protections. EPA stands ready to mobilize additional staff after the storm passes and as clean up and recovery efforts begin. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has made information available from the HHS emPOWER program, a partnership between the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, to support public health emergency planning and response activities. The program provides valuable information on the number of Medicare beneficiaries who rely on electricity-dependent durable medical equipment and certain health care services, such as dialysis, oxygen tanks, or home health care, to help anticipate, plan for, and respond to the needs of at-risk residents in areas impacted by the storm. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) notified Public Housing Authorities, multifamily, and healthcare facility owners to implement all appropriate protocols to prepare for the storm and ensure the safety of their residents. HUD is and will continue to work with the Public Housing Authorities, multifamily, and healthcare owners and homelessness assistance partners to determine damage impact and resident displacement. HUD will also be developing vacancy lists of HUD-assisted projects that can be used to provide temporary and/or permanent housing to disaster survivors. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service approved Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ request to provide operational flexibilities in all of the state’s school lunch programs – which will enhance flexibilities for meal service during unanticipated school closures. The Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration aerial teams are being deployed to provide valuable observations of impacted communities to understand the scope of the storm damage and to support disaster response by Federal partners. To ensure navigational safety, NOAA experts work around-the-clock after a storm acquiring and processing data to speed the reopening of ports and waterways by verifying water depth and identifying dangers to navigation. Additional personnel from the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Department of the Interior, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy, and Department of Health and Human Services are deployed to assist with response and recovery efforts.