Bad flooding is happening and one dam, the Waterville Dam in Tennessee has burst, and they have called out all the emergency people that they can to try and save lives. They warned ahead of time that it was looking like the dam might not hold, so hopefully, people had a chance to escape before the dam burst. When you look at the map for the Newport, TN area, most of the roads are marked red (closed), the town is flooded, and the I-40 highway from Tennessee to North Carolina has completely washed out in at least one place. Another dam by Lake Lure, in North Carolina, is also under warnings that they do not know if it can hold up in the flooding.
My heart does go out to all those who have lost literally everything including family members but there’s something about a house floating down the street ….. https://youtube.com/shorts/X0Rx1BMP8NU?si=nwZYmKrR3RNy96FhM
I was praying about this today, brought more to my attention by one of the ladies in my church-group yesterday. She told of her son's family losing so much in the hurricane I cannot imagine going through something like that @Bobby Cole
It's so unbelievable how many disasters are happening for people in the US. Sure puts me to shame on griping about the cushy climate I have here
I was just thinking that @Marie Mallery and @Jake Smith live in the FL panhandle. I hope they made it through the storm OK. I spoke with my sister earlier; she said her grandson's house had the entire back wall blown off. Also two hunters who lease part of her wooded land had left their travel trailers for hunting season and one of the RVs was flipped onto its side; the other was blown off the hitch. My nephew's widow traveled to N.GA to stay with her daughter during the storm; while she was gone the french doors on the back of her house blew open and her den is now full of storm debris and water. She hasn't come home yet. Power is still out in their area.
This is indeed terrible and my prayers have gone up. But when they talked about the fact that this has not happened since 1791 it brought me back to the thought that they will try to blame this on 'climate change.
I visited the Biltmore Hotel years ago. Can't believe the destruction there as everywhere in the area.
Ryan Hall is one of the people, along with Nick Sortor, who is helping the people in North Carolina, after the terrible flooding there. They have been bringing in supplies and water for people, and are setting up Elon Musk’s Starlink so that people can use that to let family members know where they are at. Actually it is Ryan and also Chris Hall, who I think must be Ryan’s brother. This is way beyond just reporting the weather, and I am totally imporessed with how much this guy is doing to help people in this once-in-a lifetime kind of disaster.
I watch Ryan, and they did raise a lot of money to help, they do that for tornado alley as well, and I was surprised they take on even hurricanes. I think Ryan and the storm-chases plus meteorologist Andy, and just the whole crew are very good at what the do I had also heard about Elon setting up starlink which is so crucial an asset for people to have a way to get/stay in touch.
Chris and Ryan are actually there at Asheville, and have been for the last day or so, and they are helping with everything that is going on, and coordinating things. What is terrible , is that the federal government (Biden/Harris) has not even acknowledged that this has happened, and no federal help is on the way that I have heard about at all. I imagine that you are probably already following both of them on X, and have seen all of the pictures they are posting from Asheville and that whole area, @Denise Evans .
I saw something on Facebook that I thought was interesting. Mountain Mule Packers Ranch is bringing supplies to places in their area that can't be accessed by road anymore. They are in NC. Normally they offer camping pack trips, hunting trips, lessons, etc. They won't have a big impact geographically but they will have a huge impact for good on the people they reach.
I have been reading about this on X, too, @Vada Bloom , and it is wonderful that they are doing this, and they can get places that nothing else can get to. When I had my mule, he was the most surefooted animal ever, and went up and down steep banks with no problem, and never spooked like horses do. This guy should be a great help getting to the most inaccessible places. There is so much coverage on X, and so very little on other news , that I have found. People are leaving messages about lost family members and being reunited with this app, because everyone is sharing the information and pictures of lost family members, and found people.
X is a great source of information. I wish more people would use it and that it could be posted directly here. That mule packer probably isn't the only one. The mountain people in those states have their ways of helping each other and they are the first source. I think FEMA will be lost unless they put some locals in charge. Btw, I've barely heard FEMA mentioned. Are they all in Florida or maybe still in DC?
I have read nothing about FEMA response. If it had been GW Bush or Trump in the White House, that would be the prime story across the country. My wife has been in touch finally with friends in both south Georgia and Asheville. All are safe. The folks in Georgia have intermittent power, and trees on their house and a destroyed greenhouse. Otherwise okay. The friends in Asheville however, are a different story. They are a fairly wealthy couple who are into at all into prepping. They will be out of power for weeks. The rural areas around them will be out even longer, perhaps months, as the bridges are out and the utility companies cannot get to many locations. The utility trucks cannot get fuel to travel or work, as all fuel depots are low or out, no power to pump, and with the roads and bridges compromised there is no way to bring fuel into the area. our friends have lost everything in their fridges and freezers and all the local stores are in the same state. If any of you have been to the region, Biltmore Village and Chimney Rock area are totally destroyed and I don't know how those places will ever be rebuilt. Apparently there was a similar event in 1910, but the population was much lower then, and there was no power or internet to worry about for most of the people. Nobody alive remembers 1910, but there are pictures.... Rumors are the the National Guard are helicoptering utility workers into some areas, but they can't do much without equipment. I suspect Biden is still on a beach vacation, and Harris is trying to stay hidden as much as possible, so there is nobody minding the national "store" either.