Hey guys,
As most of you know, I live in Western NC, and we were hit by hurricane Helene. The morning of the storm, my wife and I were watching our trees bend in half due to the strong winds. Several small tornadoes set down around our home and we couldn't believe our eyes. As huge oak trees started to fall, we were praying for protection. The trees we lost were not small, some being nearly seven feet round, and up to a hundred feet tall. The wind was circling so strong that one of our big oaks broke in half at the base. Our neighbor's oldest oak tree, almost 200 hundred years old, was split into three pieces at the base, leaving three huge parts of her tree lying in different directions. Flooding wasn't an issue for my wife and I, since we live on a higher elevation than the waters reached. Several pine trees had fallen across our power lines and cause the pole to break, leaving us without power.
After the storm started to settle, some of us grabbed our chainsaws and went to work. As we would clear three or four trees from the roads, we would drive a few hundred feet to the next set of downed trees. We cleared thirty-eight trees within three miles. When we finally made it to our main road leading to town, we saw even more devastation. The rivers had swollen so much from four days of rain, that a twenty-foot wall of water took out the entire main street of Chimney Rock, NC within minutes. Nothing was left, not even the road. I served in the Marine Corps. I saw combat and areas effected by war, but the path of this storm looked as if it were the apocalypse. This is when panic set in. We looked at each other, asking if anyone had a cell signal, and the answer was always the same, no. Even our 911 emergency frequency was not working. Even though we live in one of the worst hit areas from this storm, my wife and I felt blessed, we had no damage to our home or cars, but without power, water, or any communication to the outside world, we felt helpless.
The first day was confusing, as we tried to figure out what we had to work with. Our motorhome survived the storm, so we moved into it and used its generator for power. We didn't have any way of communicating to others, since several of the cell towers were damaged and left everyone here without service. All of our roads were either washed away or blocked by huge trees, leaving us unable to travel. The second day, we started seeing helicopters flying over us every 30 to 45 minutes, most of them were civilian helicopters, but some were military. These helicopters were dropping pallets of water and food into our neighborhoods, so things were starting to look up. Hours turned into days, and days to weeks, before relief and help could get to us on the ground. As we waited, we looked for our friends and family members who lived here in our area. A person who was caught in the river's rushing waters was later found high up in a tree, dead. A good friend lost his wife because he couldn't hold onto her any longer, his strength gave out and she slipped away. Men, women, and children were now missing, many of whom we never found. The river rose so quickly, that a warning was not possible. No one expected our small 50-foot wide river to swell to 250 feet across. The raging water washed away many people's homes, cars, and families, most of which would be found crushed against the *** in Lake Lure, NC. Helene may not have been a full hurricane, but when she joined forces with a low front coming from the west, it was a recipe for disaster and death.
It has been over a month, and our power and water were restored six days ago. We drive over temporary bridges and gavel roads to get to town. Chimney Rock and Lake Lure will never be the same. Where the river banks were just 50 or 60 feet apart, they are now 250 to 300 feet apart, causing the loss of entire towns. The pavement from the roads we used to drive on are now at the bottom of Lake Lure. Our friends and family we lost are now with God. As we rebuild our lives, I can't help but wonder, how could so much destruction come from a single storm? One thing I have learned from all of this, people will come together, putting differences aside, to rebuild and recover from mother nature's fury. As we cut through trees and limbs covering our roads, we didn't ask anyone if they were a Democrat or Republican. We didn't see a skin color or sex. We came together as people, Americans, and neighbors to overcome the adversities in our lives. The storm, named Helene, restored my faith in our nation by bringing us together to work through a disaster. Helene restored our faith in each other by forcing us to put down our phones, computers, and TVs. Helene made us speak to each other, face to face. I am not trying to downplay this storms destruction, I am only trying to see the positive we gained from her.
Thanks for taking the time to read my post.
As most of you know, I live in Western NC, and we were hit by hurricane Helene. The morning of the storm, my wife and I were watching our trees bend in half due to the strong winds. Several small tornadoes set down around our home and we couldn't believe our eyes. As huge oak trees started to fall, we were praying for protection. The trees we lost were not small, some being nearly seven feet round, and up to a hundred feet tall. The wind was circling so strong that one of our big oaks broke in half at the base. Our neighbor's oldest oak tree, almost 200 hundred years old, was split into three pieces at the base, leaving three huge parts of her tree lying in different directions. Flooding wasn't an issue for my wife and I, since we live on a higher elevation than the waters reached. Several pine trees had fallen across our power lines and cause the pole to break, leaving us without power.
After the storm started to settle, some of us grabbed our chainsaws and went to work. As we would clear three or four trees from the roads, we would drive a few hundred feet to the next set of downed trees. We cleared thirty-eight trees within three miles. When we finally made it to our main road leading to town, we saw even more devastation. The rivers had swollen so much from four days of rain, that a twenty-foot wall of water took out the entire main street of Chimney Rock, NC within minutes. Nothing was left, not even the road. I served in the Marine Corps. I saw combat and areas effected by war, but the path of this storm looked as if it were the apocalypse. This is when panic set in. We looked at each other, asking if anyone had a cell signal, and the answer was always the same, no. Even our 911 emergency frequency was not working. Even though we live in one of the worst hit areas from this storm, my wife and I felt blessed, we had no damage to our home or cars, but without power, water, or any communication to the outside world, we felt helpless.
The first day was confusing, as we tried to figure out what we had to work with. Our motorhome survived the storm, so we moved into it and used its generator for power. We didn't have any way of communicating to others, since several of the cell towers were damaged and left everyone here without service. All of our roads were either washed away or blocked by huge trees, leaving us unable to travel. The second day, we started seeing helicopters flying over us every 30 to 45 minutes, most of them were civilian helicopters, but some were military. These helicopters were dropping pallets of water and food into our neighborhoods, so things were starting to look up. Hours turned into days, and days to weeks, before relief and help could get to us on the ground. As we waited, we looked for our friends and family members who lived here in our area. A person who was caught in the river's rushing waters was later found high up in a tree, dead. A good friend lost his wife because he couldn't hold onto her any longer, his strength gave out and she slipped away. Men, women, and children were now missing, many of whom we never found. The river rose so quickly, that a warning was not possible. No one expected our small 50-foot wide river to swell to 250 feet across. The raging water washed away many people's homes, cars, and families, most of which would be found crushed against the *** in Lake Lure, NC. Helene may not have been a full hurricane, but when she joined forces with a low front coming from the west, it was a recipe for disaster and death.
It has been over a month, and our power and water were restored six days ago. We drive over temporary bridges and gavel roads to get to town. Chimney Rock and Lake Lure will never be the same. Where the river banks were just 50 or 60 feet apart, they are now 250 to 300 feet apart, causing the loss of entire towns. The pavement from the roads we used to drive on are now at the bottom of Lake Lure. Our friends and family we lost are now with God. As we rebuild our lives, I can't help but wonder, how could so much destruction come from a single storm? One thing I have learned from all of this, people will come together, putting differences aside, to rebuild and recover from mother nature's fury. As we cut through trees and limbs covering our roads, we didn't ask anyone if they were a Democrat or Republican. We didn't see a skin color or sex. We came together as people, Americans, and neighbors to overcome the adversities in our lives. The storm, named Helene, restored my faith in our nation by bringing us together to work through a disaster. Helene restored our faith in each other by forcing us to put down our phones, computers, and TVs. Helene made us speak to each other, face to face. I am not trying to downplay this storms destruction, I am only trying to see the positive we gained from her.
Thanks for taking the time to read my post.
