Trailzen, hoping you got through the storm OK.

sedges: "Trailzen, hoping you got through the storm OK."

Thanks, sedges. We're in an island of calm surrounded by so much crazy floodwater and wind damage that we insist that we were only "inconvenienced" by Helene rather than really being impacted. While we were without water and cell service for four days, we always have a drinking water stash and were able to contact our daughter in Colorado via our Spot X and she was able to contact other family members to let them know we were OK. We were without power & internet almost a week, but have a whole-house generator kept our fridge and freezer going, and we became the charging station for neighbors' hearing aids, phones, tablets, etc. We were also able to host a few group meals as neighbors emptied fridge and freezer contents. The photos and videos you're seeing of NC communities like Lake Lure, Chimney Rock, Asheville, Hot Springs, and Marshall, as well as similar mountain towns in east TN, emphasize my point about personally being only inconvenienced!

Thanks for reaching out!

TZ

In NE GA we, too, were only inconvenienced by some tree and powerline tangles and 3 and a half days without power. We were prepared with water to drink, cook, bathe and flush and simply went into camping mode.

The damage I see in western NC is kind of hard to believe. I think recovery for the region will be a decade or more even if well assisted.

Glad to hear you are OK!

In Spartanburg SC, we sustained quite a bit of damage. I just got internet about 2 hours ago after 26 days without it. This is my first post since it came back up; I had to see the canoeing news from way up north to feel back to normal.

We were lucky and had minimal property damage, but my neighborhood was struck hard with over 20 houses heavily damaged or destroyed beyond repair and many more suffering minor damage. I live in an older neighborhood with many mature (read "old") oaks and gum trees that fell and in some cases split houses in two. My house was only without power for 5 days, but some neighbors were without power for over two weeks. Several of those folks also lost water when the roots of the toppled trees broke water lines.

There was some good that came out of the storm. Many neighbors met neighbors that they had yet to meet. We came together to clear roads of the hundred or so trees down across roads and to clear driveways once the roads were passable. People were inviting each other to come to dinner as they cleaned out the freezers and refrigerators; just walking down the streets in the evening obligated you to join in multiple feasts. We got together to check on some of the disabled and older residents to make sure that all was well and that they were not needing anything. The disaster brought out a lot of good will and the goodness of the folks here.

One of the things that was often commented on was how quiet it was, if you could ignore the sirens of the emergency vehicles. I knew immediately when power came back on from the noise of the refrigerator in our kitchen. It took a moment to recognize the sound, and suddenly we realized the noises and sounds that we are inundated with in our "normal" life. The quiet was missed, but the trade-off for food storage, a hot shower, easy reading and the stereo at night consoled us a bit.

I’m in Spartanburg as well. My parents still don’t have internet. I was on last day of my BWCA trip when Helene hit. Came home to a mess. Couple of trees on fence but no major damage. We were without power 9 days. But so thankful. As said the people of western NC and eastern TENN are still suffering.

SouthernKevlar and GregSC, sorry to hear that Spartanburg was so severely hit--we've seen so much damage in western NC and east TN that I hadn't really checked into surrounding areas. Good to hear that the personal damage for each of you was minimal, and I like hearing more stories of neighbors helping neighbors. While life in my immediate neighborhood is pretty much back to normal, just a few miles away are homes off their foundations or completely washed away, cars tumbled against bridge abutments, etc.

Pisgah District of Pisgah National Forest was opened to the public Friday, October 18, after USFS crews had removed some road and trail blockages. Now local volunteer groups (Carolina Mountain Club, Pisgah Area SORBA, etc) are doing more trail clearing and tread repairs. Other districts on Pisgah NF and Nantahala NF are still closed, as is the Blue Ridge Parkway's NC mileage. Most of Asheville's water system still delivers only non-potable water, and about 10% of the system is still without water. I was in south Asheville last night and most restaurants and many other businesses were closed. Regional recovery will be a very long-term process.

TZ

Most of damage here was from wind and trees uprooted. As far as I know no one in our area lost water. I talked to a guy at the Subaru dealership in Asheville last week and he aid he still had no running water at all. Bless the people of that area. I can’t imagine how bad the flooding was.

Hi GregSC, I sent you a PM.

I have been keeping tabs on a cousin in a retirement community in Asheville and the lack of potable water seems to be the biggest issue for the folks there. They are being supplied with bottled water for drinking, but at least they can now flush their toilets instead of going out to the port-a-johns. Let all hope for a quick recovery for that region.

Just got done helping to load a 20’ box truck crammed with stuff heading to NC. Ten boxes of toys left to load and then this is off and on its way.

I’m an inspector working g relief in Florida on Milton, with so much damage during Helene made worse. Heartbreaking. Be well everybody.