Helene Response

#51
#51
LAVol1 said:
I worked in relief efforts after Katrina. About all government agencies can do is move trash and write checks. Not much good for anything else. The Christian ministries did 10X more to help people get back on their feet but got little credit for it in the national media.

Main thoroughfares can be back up and running much faster than one might think with proper leadership. Just look at what DeSantis did in SW FL after hurricane Ian. This is when you see if your leaders are capable.
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Give to ASP, Samaritans Purse, Habitat, even town of Hot Springs. ****, they all need our help.
 
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#52
#52
Our business just delivered two truckloads of supplies to Burnsville, NC, my wife’s hometown just north of Asheville. The devastation is overwhelming. Most of the town and surrounding areas still don’t have cell service, and the communities of Pensacola and Micaville were almost completely wiped out.

We spoke to my wife’s uncle, who has been helping with recovery efforts, including the unimaginable task of tagging bodies pulled from the river. It’s hard to grasp the full scale of this disaster, and I don’t think we’ll truly know the extent of the devastation for weeks or even months.

I’m hearing that the devastation in Yancey County is comparable to Katrina. The rural, winding roads make it a logistical nightmare to check on everyone, and there’s so much work to be done.

But amid all this heartbreak, what stands out most to me is the resilience of the human spirit. It’s incredible to see how communities come together in times of disaster. Over the next few months, there will be countless opportunities for love and support to be shown, and I believe that’s where we’ll see the true strength of this region.
 
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#53
#53
BigTimeVols said:
Our business just delivered two truckloads of supplies to Burnsville, NC, my wife’s hometown just north of Asheville. The devastation is overwhelming. Most of the town and surrounding areas still don’t have cell service, and the communities of Pensacola and Micaville were almost completely wiped out.

We spoke to my wife’s uncle, who has been helping with recovery efforts, including the unimaginable task of tagging bodies pulled from the river. It’s hard to grasp the full scale of this disaster, and I don’t think we’ll truly know the extent of the devastation for weeks or even months.

I’m hearing that the devastation in Yancey County is comparable to Katrina. The rural, winding roads make it a logistical nightmare to check on everyone, and there’s so much work to be done.

But amid all this heartbreak, what stands out most to me is the resilience of the human spirit. It’s incredible to see how communities come together in times of disaster. Over the next few months, there will be countless opportunities for love and support to be shown, and I believe that’s where we’ll see the true strength of this region.
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Are there a lot of deceased? I pray everyday that there arent, but fear the worst. I think we have gotten relatively lucky in ETN so far. So sad.

Sadly, Mitchell, Yancey, and Buncombe got the brunt.
 
#56
#56
BigTimeVols said:
Our business just delivered two truckloads of supplies to Burnsville, NC, my wife’s hometown just north of Asheville. The devastation is overwhelming. Most of the town and surrounding areas still don’t have cell service, and the communities of Pensacola and Micaville were almost completely wiped out.

We spoke to my wife’s uncle, who has been helping with recovery efforts, including the unimaginable task of tagging bodies pulled from the river. It’s hard to grasp the full scale of this disaster, and I don’t think we’ll truly know the extent of the devastation for weeks or even months.

I’m hearing that the devastation in Yancey County is comparable to Katrina. The rural, winding roads make it a logistical nightmare to check on everyone, and there’s so much work to be done.

But amid all this heartbreak, what stands out most to me is the resilience of the human spirit. It’s incredible to see how communities come together in times of disaster. Over the next few months, there will be countless opportunities for love and support to be shown, and I believe that’s where we’ll see the true strength of this region.
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Communities are indeed banding together to serve one another and meet needs where we can find them.
 
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#59
#59
AdoptedVOL said:
We’ve been at this since Katrina and before. Why can’t we deliver water, comms, critical meds to those stranded?

- Air force of drones to deliver meds
- Rednecks with 4-wheelers in mountains and Cajun Navy in flat lands to deliver water/StarLink

No one needs to go more than 2; hours without access to water and meds.
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The means to send whatever aid needed is there if a certain group would get off it’s lazy, incompetent azz and get things moving.
 
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#61
#61
Jackcrevol said:
Are there a lot of deceased? I pray everyday that there arent, but fear the worst. I think we have gotten relatively lucky in ETN so far. So sad.

Sadly, Mitchell, Yancey, and Buncombe got the brunt.
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.
 
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#63
#63
CornbreadVol said:
Unfortunately it’s a ton. Cars trapped under bridges, countless being washed up in Rivers. Henderson county death toll is already up to 100 and my first responder friend said that Burnsville was requesting 100 body bags.
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Not disputing what you're saying.

6 confirmed in Hendo, 57 in Buncombe.
 
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#66
#66
BigTimeVols said:
We didn’t get a number but the fact they are tagging tells me it’s more than just a few
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There are a lot of deceased. Rescue crews have been moving past flooded cars and homes and buildings with deceased in them to look for and help survivors. They haven’t even stopped to ID or count many of the dead. Katrina-in-the-Sky. Almost unimaginable.
 
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#67
#67
Ritzwatch said:
There are a lot of deceased. Rescue crews have been moving past flooded cars and homes and buildings with deceased in them to look for and help survivors. They haven’t even stopped to ID or count many of the dead. Katrina-in-the-Sky. Almost unimaginable.
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it's always easy to second guess authorities.

But, lessons HAVE to be learned here. Action taken.

I'm asking questions here.

We have ability to push emergent data to cellular devices. This was very controversial, as its perceived as a threat to privacy.

Does it make sense for rural communities to have such technology?

Thinking of the story in Jonesborough about husband and wife. Neighbors were fine, but their home floated away with them in it. Had their been an early warning system, would it have made a difference?

How expensive will it be to re build? Contrast that against say, rural broadband buildout (a waste of money iyam). How much additional capital will it cost in deploying signage used in Emergencies? 'Danger High Water: Proceed with Caution'

The TVA uses these everywhere there are Dams. Dams use loud sirens to alert boaters.

ETSU now has tornado/emergency sirens that can be heard across all of Johnson City.

In old coal towns, there are still massive speakers sitting in various stages of dis repair once used for this exact scenario (See Grundy VA).

Additionally, small towns and municipalities have no bona fide special ops first responders. TWRA cannot react quickly enough. Often one or two wardens patrol a territory to Knoxville.

I think we can move forward with lessons learned here. To do so without, is folly.
 
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#70
#70
Jackcrevol said:
Cannot fathom, do not want that to be true.

Is it fair to be angry, when my family is safe and unaffected?

I do not understand where the hell is everyone?
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We finally heard from my brother-in-law in Hendersonville yesterday afternoon. The waiting is hard and the relief overwhelming.

Some will not experience this same relief.

Part of me questions why we can’t do better. I believe we can to some degree.

I also recognize the power of nature, weather and water. The foe can be daunting.
 
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#71
#71
I’m trying to fill another truckload of bottled water, paper towels, wipes, toilet paper, etc to take to Erwin today but simply can’t find these essentials. The port strike is scaring people into hoarding these supplies so the shelves are empty. We are going to have a supply chain issue at the worst possible time!
 
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#72
#72
Jackcrevol said:
Cannot fathom, do not want that to be true.

Is it fair to be angry, when my family is safe and unaffected?

I do not understand where the hell is everyone?
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Not that it makes anything better, but we have seen National Guard in TRI since Friday night, gradually increasing in the days after. Helicopter convoys from Unicoi, Carter, and lower Washington counties have been non-stop back and forth to TRI and to a temporary supply center in the Gray area. FEMA didn’t start boots on the ground (at least in my observation and third party reports) until Monday. TEMA, much the same, but they were heavily involved remotely with the crisis centers and local agencies.

Talking to one of the crisis commanders Tuesday at a relief center where our company was bringing in food for first responders, they said what’s making things worse and appearing that nothing is happening is the sheer size and scope of the devastation. Normally, we see a hurricane smash into Florida and that’s where the catastrophic damage is confined. But in this instance, it’s cut a massive swath all the way into the mountains, hundreds of miles from where they normally would expect the worst

No excuses for some of the response - there’s plenty of blame to go around. But repositioning resources, getting it moved into areas that are completely cut off, and dealing with the complete lack of infrastructure takes time and effort. Now that we are seeing resources on the ground, there had better be some rapid gains in accounting for the people missing and firm plans on getting things moving again. IMO, 1,000 active duty is not enough - start bringing up more since this impacts at least 6 states catastrophically.
 
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#74
#74
FBtime said:
My daughter is a paramedic and is in NC with many other first responders. Left from Memphis last week and will probably be deployed over a month.
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My nephew is a chief on the Memphis Fire Dept. He’s traveling throughout that entire area with other responders from Memphis. I’d be willing to bet your daughter knows him.
 
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#75
#75
taylorvol said:
I’m trying to fill another truckload of bottled water, paper towels, wipes, toilet paper, etc to take to Erwin today but simply can’t find these essentials. The port strike is scaring people into hoarding these supplies so the shelves are empty. We are going to have a supply chain issue at the worst possible time!
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It’s kind of weird behavior. I believe most toilet paper and bottled water is produced domestically. It doesn’t even go through the ports.
 
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