Hurricane Helene

[Rick W]

I get it, I’ll fight the good fight through other avenues…

 

[Rick W]

Once in a while, even someone as glorious as I am needs a corrective smack in the head

Let me apologize to @Jim Oaks, @Uncle Gump, and all of you for my inappropriate posting.

You all know that I can’t keep my mouth shut. I hope you also realize that I believe right and ethical above all else. Having said that, in my passion for this country, I did not take it in mind that this is not “my” site, and I fear I may have disrespected the mentioned gentleman, and you folks in general. I didn’t look at it from that perspective.

@Jim Oaks and the rest of you guys have established a great thing here. I have not been disappointed for a second in any one of you and my enjoyment of being included. I meant no disrespect, and I will be more careful in the future.

Let me end with “God bless America,” my America, the America I grew up with.

 

[Jim Oaks]

Every day I'm seeing new videos of the devastation. Lives and property lost. But what amazes me is all of the civilian helicopters flying aid in to people that are still cut off.

Why does this bother me so much? Because in September some of us were driving washed out county roads and cutting downed trees out of our way for the fun of it. Now I'm sitting in Texas with a truck that could probably reach people, and I'm doing nothing. Wouldn't even know where to begin or if I would even be able to get in to help.

 

[Rick W]

I think I said it, I’ve been posting stuff everywhere.

(1) Go through your closets, and if you’ve got clean clothes that you’re not going to be using, put them in a box. Go through your workshop, and if there are tools and screws you’re not going to use, put them in a box. Etc. etc. If you go in every square inch of your house and your shop, that’s exactly what these people have lost. They need it all.

Don’t wait to get it all organized and get it correct. Fill up a box and ship it. Then fill up another, etc., don’t wait.

Where do you send it? Ship the boxes and on the label write:

To:
Disaster aide/Sheriff/Police/Fire Dept
C/O US Post Office
State & Zip code

No specific address needed.

(2) if you can afford a few dollars after that, Red Cross is the real deal. They were great when I went through a tornado and I don’t think they’ve been politicized. Check with your church, maybe some other folks’ churches, ask your local sheriff. On the chance they’re not doing something, tickle them the way I’m tickling you.

(3) set a calendar reminder on your phone, and do it all again in a week. And a week after that, etc. When we got hit, we had hotels and water and electricity, etc., and it still took a year and a half to get back in the house. Insurance paid for the two by fours, not much else. Send duct tape and sardines, and spoons and forks and knives.

In closing, I’ll tell you to post something here about how it’s all being handled, but that @Uncle Gump guy and the site owners will bite your head off!

And it should’ve been the first thing I said, but stop what you’re doing for a second and clear your head, and pray to the Man upstairs for wisdom on what to do, and for the health and safety and salvation for those affected, as well as all the service people, public or private, who are coming to their aid. Don’t think for a second it doesn’t have a profound effect.

My two cents from having been there once or twice…

 

[Rick W]

And while I’m being a know it all on top of my soapbox, a couple more thoughts.

I’m involved with sheriffs here and there so I always think of them first. Call your local sheriff, or your local police department, or fire department. - no politicians - and ask how to help. They will know.

If you’re more comfortable in your shoes like me, think of the area where you would like to help, and call the sheriff or the police out there. They will definitely know what they need and how you could help. Tell them what you can do and tell them what you have and whatever they ask you to do, trust me they need it, be humble like me. Well, maybe scratch that last part, just be humble.

I alluded to it above, but if you can’t go, you can organize and generate a little sweat and gather some people together wherever you are to put together care packages: foo, tape measures, pliers, cleaning, supplies, towels, etc. What would you need, if water flooded your house and you had to fix it and clean it up?

If you’re in striking distance, and you can go and help, don’t just show up. Again, I would start with the sheriff or the fire or police. If you go, be as self-sufficient as possible. Bring extra gasoline for your own vehicle, bring your own food, don’t assume your cell phone will work or there will be Internet coverage anywhere, bring extra clothes, bring nuts and bolts and wire and wing nuts and duct tape.

Bring a Bible.

It’s chaos right now, so check with someone in advance on where and how you should show up, but don’t hesitate.

if you can’t just up and leave, in a month or six weeks, most of the roads should be back open and limited service should be restored, so maybe you could get with your church or your buddies or your family and load up at U-Haul truck. You could go to a church or the police or fire department up there, wherever up there is most important to you, and drop it off.

If you want to be hands-on, check in advance where they need you most and what you should bring with you.

 

[Jim Oaks]

In closing, I’ll tell you to post something here about how it’s all being handled, but that @Uncle Gump guy and the site owners will bite your head off!

What??

I'm the site owner. Why are you telling people I'm going to bite their head off? @Uncle Gump simply said he wasn't going to let the thread get political. Complaining about what the federal government isn't doing isn't going to help.

My first concern was if any of our TRS members were caught in the middle of that. Maybe they are and don't have access to the internet to let us know? Can any of you think of anyone in that region that is missing from the forum? If there is then how can we help them. Family first.

My second concern was, how could we or I help those people. Yes, I realize I could donate money and stuff from the comfort of my home. But how does that help people that are stranded right now and not able to get to the things they need.

 

[Jim Oaks]

BTW, as a former police officer and retired State Trooper, I've been on post and had to deal with phones, and I've been in our dispatch areas as well as the county sheriff's dispatch area and saw them dealing with phone calls. Having people calling during a disaster or emergency and wanting to know what's going on and how they can help is really fricken annoying.

And believe it or not, I was actually working as a State Trooper one night when we got a flash flood out of nowhere that washed away roads, bridges, houses, cars, and property. Fortunately, nobody was killed, but I have an idea of how chaotic this can be and has been, and it's probably 100 times worse than I can imagine.

Most law enforcement agencies have a website or a facebook page. Chimney Rock is in Rutherford County, and the sheriff has a website, but they've been posting updates on their facebook page.

Rutherford County Sheriff - North Carolina

If you want to help more locally it would better to start there to get some direction and avoid tying up the phone.

 

[Rick W]

What??

I'm the site owner. Why are you telling people I'm going to bite their head off? @Uncle Gump simply said he wasn't going to let the thread get political. Complaining about what the federal government isn't doing isn't going to help.

My first concern was if any of our TRS members were caught in the middle of that. Maybe they are and don't have access to the internet to let us know? Can any of you think of anyone in that region that is missing from the forum? If there is then how can we help them. Family first.

My second concern was, how could we or I help those people. Yes, I realize I could donate money and stuff from the comfort of my home. But how does that help people that are stranded right now and not able to get to the things they need.

Yikes, I did it again!

I was joking about you and uncle Gump, the rest was simply I’ve been there and done that, and some people don’t know how to help.

It’s old man with a good heart

 

[Curious Hound]

Jim, I can’t think of any TRS members off the top of my head that is in that area. But I would have to look through a lot of different parts of the site to figure it out. There is at least one guy locally, here in Greenville that I have met. I should look him up and check on him. Our area is starting to almost normalize now.

I’m watching things and looking for ways to get plugged in. This is going to be a long haul. They’re still finding people who have been stranded and hidden. The 4x4 groups I know who I could easily join forces with to help ferry supplies in and people out are all a couple hours from here under normal travel conditions. So I would waste hours just getting there to help them. The Chimney Rock/Lake Lure area is the closest devastated area for me.

The real key is to get active in emergency groups ahead of time, when things are normal. I should hook up with a SAR group for future events. The issue is that this was so unexpected and abnormal for this area. So, complacency prevents many of us from getting involved when there’s not an emergency. I’m ashamed to be guilty of that even though I have considered it several times in the past.

if there’s anything positive I have to say right now it is this; Everyone needs to self-evaluate and figure out how they can proactively become a part of the “solutions” ahead of time. Don't Wait until disaster hits your area. Get plugged into organizations now - SAR groups, Ham Radio, volunteer fire departments, police auxiliary, Red Cross, etc. By getting plugged in, you can get training and the groups will know that you are a resource.

 

[2drxploder]

about 2 to 4 hours from me. depending on where you are going. my boss has a vacation house in nc mountains, almost flooded out, recent build and tall, it made just under the floor joists. the house across the river from him, nice older house, mostly gone. he has made several trips to the area already, sent what i could with them. ppl just going to go are becoming a problem also. most places of local donation pick-ups (they are literally everywhere in my area) are saying no bottled water at the moment. first aid kits, otc meds BUG SPRAY, protein bars, utility knives bar oil, 2 stroke mix oil, small camping grills and propane toothpaste brushes other hygeine products. most places will ony accept NEW clothes. matches lighters and of course formula diapers. milk is not available locally here.

 

[Robertmangrum.rm]

Our church has delivered 2 large Uhauls full of water and clothes and hygiene products. The National Gaurd is who they have been in contact with (Mainly because we have several church members who are active gaurd members dispatched there right now) are asking for winter clothes and shoes and socks right now. They have cold weather in the forcast and will make the situation worse. Of course water is the main issue right now. They are not sure how long it will take to get the water back on. They have said that the locals have been terrific about pulling together and keeping everyone feed. They have mentioned that several local groups have set up places to get a warm meal. They have actually had a couple local horseback groups volunteer to transport supplies to people trapped in higher elevations with no helicopter landing access. It's great to see everyone pull together. Unfortunately this tragedy will take a long time to recover from. I know when we were hit with the floods in 2010. Our house was a complete loss. It was complete chaos until the National Gaurd showed up. Our local police and fire departments were overwhelmed with calls. They were not prepared for a flood of that size. This disaster is way more destructive. I can't imagine how overwhelmed these small community departments have to be. All I can say is donate what you can. So many lost everything on top of love ones. If your religious, say a prayer for these people devastated.

 

[fastpakr]

I got a text from a friend on Saturday night that had been helping with loading donated supplies for the previous couple of days here in town. Apparently the local non profit that was supposedly coordinating numerous local drop sites may have completely dropped the ball on the logistics of getting it down to areas in need. Another friend jumped into action and located a church run relief organization a couple of hours south of here and managed to coordinate two 53' trucks getting down there first thing Sunday morning. My son and I had the opportunity to join the unloading process as things were delivered in Galax. It's the first time in the last couple of weeks that I've been able to actually -do- something in all this. There's tons of need in all these areas. Hopefully we'll be able to do more in the near future.

 

[Curious Hound]

What??

I'm the site owner. Why are you telling people I'm going to bite their head off? @Uncle Gump simply said he wasn't going to let the thread get political. Complaining about what the federal government isn't doing isn't going to help.

My first concern was if any of our TRS members were caught in the middle of that. Maybe they are and don't have access to the internet to let us know? Can any of you think of anyone in that region that is missing from the forum? If there is then how can we help them. Family first.

My second concern was, how could we or I help those people. Yes, I realize I could donate money and stuff from the comfort of my home. But how does that help people that are stranded right now and not able to get to the things they need.

Member "masanders" is here in the Greenville area. I just messaged him and asked about his well-being.

 

[CamTheHedgehog]

My family is safe thankfully, Charlotte didn’t get hit hard, just a few downed trees and our yard was a marsh.
I would comment on how the western half of my state is doing, but everything I know @Curious Hound has already said. So just imagine me parroting him.
I still can’t believe that chimney rock is completely gone… I’ve been there a few times and it’s such an awesome little town…

I feel the sentiment of others of wishing I could be boots on the ground to help, but I don’t have the time or equipment to do that(Evidently, for certain areas, all you can get there with is either helicopter or mule). All I can do, and what I have done, is donate money to organizations like Red Cross and just keep up to date on things.

 

[2drxploder]

Suppose to get near freezing in nc mountains. Warm clothes and blankets became a priority too.