Even the police/fire/medic radios were impacted in some areas for a period - basic "HAM" radio operators have been operating almost non-stop. Have a basic handy-talky / walky-talky programed for local and regional repeaters and simplex frequencies as a backup (local hams can help you program and explain simple licencing options - but in true emergency you do not need a license to transmit). Blister pack FRS radios have only super local range, but have your neighbors coordinate using them and have at least one or two people with a more capable radio. Also have a basic battery/crank AM/FM radio - which usually have a flashlight built in. Super basic, but super comforting when cut off from cell and internet.
The ham repeater on Mount Mitchell has been non-stop since the event began - at 6,000ft most can hear it, and many can transmit to it. They have been passing info while first responders have been busy with search and rescue.
Starlink (and others) are working on satellite to cell phone communications. As this rolls out over the next few years, communications in natural disasters should be more robust. https://starlinkinsider.com/starlink-direct-to-cell/
Starlink is definitely the longer-term solution. Nice to see that they've partnered with T-Mobile, my cell provider, so I can expect service in a major earthquake. I haven't gotten any pitches from T-Mobile, however, and you'd think this would be the moment to roll them out.
Why is the 1916 Asheville flood missing from the national conversation? Exact same meteorological event - a hurricane from the gulf hitting a cooler region right over the Appalachians and drowning the land below. Those photos from that event a century-plus ago look very similar to the last weekend's image. I know the Army Corps of Engineers and city of Asheville have build major water-removal projects since then. Did they help? And for those who are blaming "climate change" for this, read the first nine words of this screed.
I'm not sure it was the 1916 flood, but, according to my brother John, my father used to talk about how many of the artificial lakes in the region were built after a hurricane disaster that flooded cities in the region. John thought it must have been in the 1950s but I couldn't find anything that matched, but maybe it was the memory of the 1916 flood.
Smart communities - which is "smart people living in clusters" - would do well to self-organize in block-by-block, or smaller, groups and ignore anything and everything in Officialdom, including HOAs. A few mid-sized QUIET generators and plenty of extension cords would keep refrigerators and freezers powered in a dozen homes (the neighbors on each side of me connected to my generator, fortunately they could find extension cords); one home with a landline could provide communications (in the aftermath of Charlie in 2004 (the night of Friday August 13, if you're counting) a neighbor put a phone on his porch for any of the neighbors to use; it took over 6 days for us to get power back but Landline POTS never stopped working. Swinging chainsaws is a job for younger, capable men (and yes, that's sexist but it requires physical strength, not the fantasy of "girl power"), older and female folks can use hand-operated buck saws on the smaller stuff and build out-of-the way piles with it (meaning,. of course, everyone needs a hand-operated saw in their disaster kit). Propane or charcoal grills can feed everyone (after Charlie most of my neighbors had their grills in their driveways cooking food that would spoil soon and making it available to everyone - the menu for a couple of blocks in any direction was absolutely amazing). On Monday, two days after Charlie, county Fire/Rescue showed up in our neighborhood to inspect streets to make sure they had access and send contract crews in if they didn't; we had all the streets open - admittedly, some only a single lane - before noon on Saturday; chain saws, 4WD pickups and tow straps did the job.
The solution in case you missed it, is "people, NOT government." Most of us are smart enough to figure out what needs to be done and share responsibility to get it done.
American self-reliance and self-organization to do what needed to be done in small communities - in short, self-government - rather than rely on outside help from ‘government’, was a major theme of de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America…something we have pretty much lost….
Even here in Durham, NC, the storm was frightening. Around 11 a.m. the rain came down sounding like a waterfall, and I worried that the storm had changed directions after hitting Florida. (Amazingly, we didn't lose power, which is a common occurrence in my area, though Duke Power is getting better.) I wonder if the incredible number of fallen trees in western NC has anything to do with our having had a very wet summer. When Fran blew through in 1996, the Raleigh/Durham area experienced a massive number of tree falls, most spectacularly a half-dozen huge live oaks lining the boulevard a block away from me, and it was reported that one of the causes was the area being already soggy from an unusually wet summer. By the time it reached the Triangle Fran was more of a wind storm than a flood event, so while the area was without power for almost three days, it had water and gas (if your water heater wasn't flooded, as was ours), so our lives were not nearly as disrupted as are those in the mountains after Helene. (My daughter, nine months old at the time, slept through the night Fran hit and enjoyed watching me traipse through the house the next day with buckets of water from the basement; futile, but something to do.) Very glad to read that your family is doing okay. On the positive side, with our financial help, disaster-relief groups are being activated in local areas of the states with massive needs, including the Carolinas.
I'd be curious to read more about this: "man-made lakes. They absorbed water that otherwise would have flowed into populated towns." What a terrible event.
Whatever one thinks about the relation of past accumulation of CO2 in te atmosphere and weather related disasters, we clearly need to invest more in hardening infrastructure against weather events. And wouldn't a tax on net CO2 emissions be a handy source of revenue for said investment?
I heard from my niece this morning, she lives about 20 minutes north of Greenville. Luckily, they weren't hit that badly and never lost power. She said that there were a lot of trees down, but I didn't realize it was that bad. Best of luck to everyone and maybe FEMA will be there to help.
Hurricane Hugo 1989. The EBS that had been featured in public service ads during the Saturday morning cartoons of my youth, failed quickly but the landlines proved robust. My brother was in Atlanta and he could tell me on the phone what the CNN trucks were reporting.
Even the police/fire/medic radios were impacted in some areas for a period - basic "HAM" radio operators have been operating almost non-stop. Have a basic handy-talky / walky-talky programed for local and regional repeaters and simplex frequencies as a backup (local hams can help you program and explain simple licencing options - but in true emergency you do not need a license to transmit). Blister pack FRS radios have only super local range, but have your neighbors coordinate using them and have at least one or two people with a more capable radio. Also have a basic battery/crank AM/FM radio - which usually have a flashlight built in. Super basic, but super comforting when cut off from cell and internet.
The ham repeater on Mount Mitchell has been non-stop since the event began - at 6,000ft most can hear it, and many can transmit to it. They have been passing info while first responders have been busy with search and rescue.
Starlink (and others) are working on satellite to cell phone communications. As this rolls out over the next few years, communications in natural disasters should be more robust. https://starlinkinsider.com/starlink-direct-to-cell/
Starlink is definitely the longer-term solution. Nice to see that they've partnered with T-Mobile, my cell provider, so I can expect service in a major earthquake. I haven't gotten any pitches from T-Mobile, however, and you'd think this would be the moment to roll them out.
Why is the 1916 Asheville flood missing from the national conversation? Exact same meteorological event - a hurricane from the gulf hitting a cooler region right over the Appalachians and drowning the land below. Those photos from that event a century-plus ago look very similar to the last weekend's image. I know the Army Corps of Engineers and city of Asheville have build major water-removal projects since then. Did they help? And for those who are blaming "climate change" for this, read the first nine words of this screed.
Since you posted I’ve seen it mentioned in several reports, including the NYT.
I'm not sure it was the 1916 flood, but, according to my brother John, my father used to talk about how many of the artificial lakes in the region were built after a hurricane disaster that flooded cities in the region. John thought it must have been in the 1950s but I couldn't find anything that matched, but maybe it was the memory of the 1916 flood.
For those who are interested, here's a post on the flood: https://www.frenchbroadrafting.com/blog/remembering-the-flood-of-1916
Smart communities - which is "smart people living in clusters" - would do well to self-organize in block-by-block, or smaller, groups and ignore anything and everything in Officialdom, including HOAs. A few mid-sized QUIET generators and plenty of extension cords would keep refrigerators and freezers powered in a dozen homes (the neighbors on each side of me connected to my generator, fortunately they could find extension cords); one home with a landline could provide communications (in the aftermath of Charlie in 2004 (the night of Friday August 13, if you're counting) a neighbor put a phone on his porch for any of the neighbors to use; it took over 6 days for us to get power back but Landline POTS never stopped working. Swinging chainsaws is a job for younger, capable men (and yes, that's sexist but it requires physical strength, not the fantasy of "girl power"), older and female folks can use hand-operated buck saws on the smaller stuff and build out-of-the way piles with it (meaning,. of course, everyone needs a hand-operated saw in their disaster kit). Propane or charcoal grills can feed everyone (after Charlie most of my neighbors had their grills in their driveways cooking food that would spoil soon and making it available to everyone - the menu for a couple of blocks in any direction was absolutely amazing). On Monday, two days after Charlie, county Fire/Rescue showed up in our neighborhood to inspect streets to make sure they had access and send contract crews in if they didn't; we had all the streets open - admittedly, some only a single lane - before noon on Saturday; chain saws, 4WD pickups and tow straps did the job.
The solution in case you missed it, is "people, NOT government." Most of us are smart enough to figure out what needs to be done and share responsibility to get it done.
American self-reliance and self-organization to do what needed to be done in small communities - in short, self-government - rather than rely on outside help from ‘government’, was a major theme of de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America…something we have pretty much lost….
Glad your family is okay, but this is truly terrible, what people are going through there.
Even here in Durham, NC, the storm was frightening. Around 11 a.m. the rain came down sounding like a waterfall, and I worried that the storm had changed directions after hitting Florida. (Amazingly, we didn't lose power, which is a common occurrence in my area, though Duke Power is getting better.) I wonder if the incredible number of fallen trees in western NC has anything to do with our having had a very wet summer. When Fran blew through in 1996, the Raleigh/Durham area experienced a massive number of tree falls, most spectacularly a half-dozen huge live oaks lining the boulevard a block away from me, and it was reported that one of the causes was the area being already soggy from an unusually wet summer. By the time it reached the Triangle Fran was more of a wind storm than a flood event, so while the area was without power for almost three days, it had water and gas (if your water heater wasn't flooded, as was ours), so our lives were not nearly as disrupted as are those in the mountains after Helene. (My daughter, nine months old at the time, slept through the night Fran hit and enjoyed watching me traipse through the house the next day with buckets of water from the basement; futile, but something to do.) Very glad to read that your family is doing okay. On the positive side, with our financial help, disaster-relief groups are being activated in local areas of the states with massive needs, including the Carolinas.
I'd be curious to read more about this: "man-made lakes. They absorbed water that otherwise would have flowed into populated towns." What a terrible event.
Whatever one thinks about the relation of past accumulation of CO2 in te atmosphere and weather related disasters, we clearly need to invest more in hardening infrastructure against weather events. And wouldn't a tax on net CO2 emissions be a handy source of revenue for said investment?
No. Perverse incentives.
Hendersonville and Asheville were devastated. All highways in WNC closed.
I heard from my niece this morning, she lives about 20 minutes north of Greenville. Luckily, they weren't hit that badly and never lost power. She said that there were a lot of trees down, but I didn't realize it was that bad. Best of luck to everyone and maybe FEMA will be there to help.
Hurricane Hugo 1989. The EBS that had been featured in public service ads during the Saturday morning cartoons of my youth, failed quickly but the landlines proved robust. My brother was in Atlanta and he could tell me on the phone what the CNN trucks were reporting.
Whole house generators fueled by Natural Gas or Propane are a great thing to invest in
Hey Virginia, I had forgotten that you were from SC. Somehow that never came up last time we talked at FEECON. Hope all is well with your family!
I've never spoken at FEECON. Must have been some other event.