This is NOT any small thing at all. People have been bringing in the Starlink boxes for several days now, including Ivanka Trumps charity, as well as Trump asking Elon to supply as many as he could. Because they can’t even use cars to set up an account there right now, Elon made a software change so that every Starlink in the affected areas is free for people to use. Another interesting thing is that people who have an iPhone were able to use their satellite service and send emergency messages with those, Apple came out with this a year or so ago, but only with the special Apple Watch, but now, it apparently works with any iPhone running on iOS 18. How it works, is that of you are stranded and no cell service, you can activate the emergency mode on the phone, and it will find a satellite and lock in on it. Then you can send a text saying where you are and other important information. Apple just put out iOS 18 a few days ago, so it happened at a perfect time for people who have an apple phone or watch.
I understand there is some kind of emergency mode for ATT and Verizon users too. It might even have been Ryan Hall who talked about it. If you can connect to ANY cell tower, it routes you to the nearest Starlink establishment for connection to the outside world.
I wonder why it would do that. If I can get to a cell tower, I can call 911 without going through a satellite.
I don't know unless the phone lines out of the location are down. Whoever said it was in response to the question, "If the communications are down, how can (those idiot) weather people still stand out in the weather and get a good picture and sound out to the network/". The big guys might have their own satellite trucks, but the little people on the internet???
Elon Musk is a national treasure as are a lot of locals and people from other states. Several groups have gone to help from my state and many other states far away from the south are pitching in too. Maybe tech will save us from our government. I haven't updated my iPhone to 18 yet. After getting burned with an update once I learned to wait a couple of weeks and let other people find the bugs.
Now I see that FEMA is broke despite having a $30 billion budget. I suspect the money for FEMA has been sent elsewhere. Apparently our government is so broken and corrupt that Americans are left adrift while we maintain the borders in other nations. It even makes ME want to cry!
Now I see the FEMA funds have been used on supporting illegal immigrants. FEMA funds are buying housing and food for people here illegally here.
And Blackrock, which has something like 90 million invested in the lithium mine they want to put in , in the Asheville area, seems to be already sending out feelers to see if more people might be willing to sell their property now that it is ruined and the cities are bulldozing whatever is left that didn’t get washed away. From what i was reading from messages from people who live in that area, the mining company has already been trying to get people to sell before this disaster happened, and now the efforts are being renewed, as people are being told that they have to be evicted from their home even if it was not ruined in the flood. And the saddest thing is that they are still finding bodies hanging in trees, buried in vehicles that were trying to escape, and inside some of the buildings. One town apparently said they were not even going to try and recover bodies anymore, because there is no way to do anything after they get them, so they are just going to bulldoze the buildings left there. It is horrific, the store is and videos people are posting online about what is happening to them as they are trying to survive and find the survivors.
It's almost like FEMA is going to deny help from the government and prevent us from helping each other so the folks there have no choice but to sell.
FEMA members are reporting that they have been in NC for days now, and the government has not given them permission to help with any of the rescue efforts yet, even though the workers want to go and help with the rescue. Also, they are all taking up a lot of rooms in one of the local hotels, where homeless people could have been sheltered. Help is coming from a lot of other states, and just people who have access to trucks, trailers, and helicopters. Plus they have the horses, mules, and now even goats packing in supplies. NASCAR has been sending in truckloads of supplies, and some of the drivers who have private helicopters are helping with the delivery.
I saw some guy called Pinball Preparedness is raising money for the cause from other preppers and publishing how the money is spent so everyone contributing knows where their money is going. I think Trump is contributing through Samaritan's Purse, Franklin Graham's charity. My wife is still following more of her friends there as they gain internet access. She said now many who still have their houses have lost everything in the freezer...but at least they are safe. Some are away and staying with relatives in other states.
Here is a link to an Alaska newsletter that gives some detail on how FEMA spent its budget on illegals and now can't help the victims of Helene. https://mustreadalaska.com/peltola-...-fema-is-too-broke-to-help-american-citizens/
Tropical storm Milton has just received his name and is expected to head from the gulf to the Tampa Bay area possibly arriving by Wednesday. It seems clear to me that the Biden admin is deliberately refusing to help the southern states. It is rural voters most affected and most likely to vote for Trump.