Just a brief recall

 

Sept 27 is the one year anniversary  of Hurricane Helene. Here the bridge in Swannanoa is shown in an aerial view soon after the storm - the highway is US 70 and had lots of sludge left all over it from the Swannanoa River flood. In the next weeks we found the dust it created was another problem to deal with.

An earlier view of the bridge and water still standing on the highway.

There are certainly more horrible things on the news these days. I bring this back up simply because this disaster impacted myself, and my neighbors so much. 

Cold December morning showed some people still living in tents and sheds.

Free food, water and supplies (cleaning, hygiene etc) were available at different  sites eventually.

Though the damage occurred on Friday, FEMA and other helpers didn't arrive until Monday. The rescue teams were looking for survivors from many mudslides and washed out buildings.

Imagine no cell service, no electricity, no water, not even ability to drive on the nearby interstates to leave the area!

Here at Black Mountain Town Square there was a daily meeting M-F, to discuss the status of water, sewer, cell service, available food and supplies. How the Public Workks people were trying to reestablish water lines was a big topic, as everyone was using "grey water" to flush with, and picking up bottled water for drinking. 

Blue Ridge apartment  residents gathered with small charcoal grills and cooked as much meat as they could, which was thawing from lack of electric power. They didn't have any water stocked up either.

It didn't become available the first 2 days. I remember going to the police station and telling them 70 some elders were at the apartments without any water, and being told everyone was in the same boat.

 The electricity was off for 13 days at my apartment, so I went to stay with a relative when highways were again open. I was able to watch these town meetings through Facebook posts. They were led initially by a young woman from the Forest Service, and she did a great job facilitating, then the town leaders took over. Eventually Asheville also had these kinds of public service meetings on line.

For months following my return to my apartment, there were still meals, water, laundry services, and showers available. Many people had lost their homes, and FEMA was really slow to provide trailers. They said they would need to be placed above flood-prone properties, but that's where people owned their lands.

It took me until March to obtain the funds to replace my lost food from FEMA.

I'm not angry about it, just realize the slow wheels of government agencies which were stretched to the limits.

-------------