First: Jay and I are fine. Completely. Now: here’s the story from our perspective.
When it started
After 8 days of travel and a 14 hour return flight, Jay and I returned to the US to the news of Hurricane Helene approaching from the South. After our flight landed in DC, we still had an 8 hour drive ahead to get back to Asheville. We opted to go on home, despite fatigue. Jay had slept a good bit on the plane and we felt safe to travel, fearing Thursday would be worse. Good call. #paystomarryameteorologist.
On Thursday, Jay scurried around getting ready for the storm. He filled our cars with gas and battened down the hatches as much as possible. I charged up every battery pack I found (I had purchased some to take to Cuba so I had extra); and I kept our devices at 100%. “Even if the power goes out we can still use our phones,” she thought, pleased with herself. And this, listeners, is where we get the phrase, “Ignorance is bliss.”
The power flashed over night Thursday and went out for good about 6:30 am. We had water until the afternoon. Because our power is seldom out for more than a few hours, and our water service is almost never interrupted, I decided to wait until the power came back on to take a shower. It’s day six since the storm, and our water has not yet been restored. In a not unrelated matter, baby wipes are a hot commodity these days.
Pause: Backstory.
We moved to Asheville in 1998. Since that day, my husband has battled drainage problems in our yard. We essentially live at the bottom of an amphitheater. When we first moved in, heavy rains would rush into our garage and seep into our downstairs. Jay and his dad performed some kind of water sorcery and corrected that issue. Still though, when we had a lot of rain in a short time, water would pool in the lower part of our yard. Jay has routed and rerouted the run-off trying to correct the problem.
A few years ago, someone built a house across the street (read “near the top of the amphitheater”) where there once were trees that soaked up water. Since then, we’ve had even more trouble when the rains come down and the floods come up. This past summer, we decided to get it fixed once and for all. [Insert laugh track.]
Okay hit Play.
How it went
Here’s our yard on Thursday when it was raining, but not flooding. I took this photo because I like how the rocks look when they are wet. Usually, these rocks are chalky dry.
At 8 am on Friday morning, our yard looked like this:
This was an hour later:
And we live in a neighborhood. And our house is set up pretty high. And Jay has been working on this drainage problem for over two decades. Note: Jay’s been fixing this issue bit by bit because this kind of work isn’t cheap and it isn’t fast. People who lack home improvement funds and time to work on such things, deal with the flooding every few years when it happens. That’s not foolish or lazy or poor planning; it’s efficient.
A NOTE TO THOSE CRITICIZING PEOPLE WHO DID NOT EVACUATE
In one hour, our yard changed from one with a fast flowing creek to a lake. I can’t imagine how much faster it happened in more mountainous and remote areas. So for those who are asking why people didn’t evacuate, that’s why. Remember, we didn’t have power when the storm escalated; many had already found that their cellular phones had stopped working. So it’s not like we could check weatherbug for information. Stop judging people who didn’t evacuate. You don’t know the whole story and we’ve got urgent situations that need attention. Instead of saying, “I just don’t get it!” work on getting it.
When it ended
On our street, once the rain stopped, neighbors began coming out of their homes. We had two trees blocking our road and almost instantly those with chainsaws got busy removing them. Once we ventured down the street, we saw other damage–trees through roofs, branches blocking driveways, debris everywhere.
We began trying to contact loved ones and learned we were unable to make or receive calls. Occasionally, we could trick our phones into sending text messages. Picture someone holding a cell phone at arm’s length, taking micro-mini steps while eyeing the phone’s connection. For fun, have your person hop on one foot and wear a spiky hat made from aluminum foil. It won’t help you get a signal but it does make for an amusing image.
Restoration begins
On Monday, I traveled to SC to be with my parents for a few days and to gather supplies; the plan was to return to Asheville Thursday. Also on Monday, Jay reported that our electricity was restored. Still no water or cell service, but there are hot-spots within a mile of our house where our phones will spring to life and act like nothing ever happened. Artificial Intelligence: it’s so fickle.
The pictures you have seen so far–photos I did not see in full until Monday–primarily represent the macro, the big picture. As the days and weeks unfold you’ll hear more and more about the micro, the more personal impact.
A FEW OF THE STORIES I’VE HEARD SO FAR
- A friend in a 12 step program tried for days to contact their sponsor. My friend has over 2 years sober and is stable; just wanting to contact a dear friend and mentor. When finally the spouse of the mentor was reached, my friend learned the beloved mentor did not survive the storm.
- A friend from out of town who has many friends in Buncombe County was widowed last month and planned a memorial service for her husband here in Asheville. It’s postponed, indefinitely.
- The artists whose studios were located in the River Arts District have lost everything. Pottery and paintings, sketches and sculptures, hopes and dreams–washed away. Gone.
- The town of Marshall–I did a wedding there a few years back. The place where I stood with the bride and groom, the image in their wedding photos, is now part of a debris filled lake.
- A friend was isolated due to a demolished bridge and fallen trees, without water, power, or cell service. The friend is the sole caregiver for her husband, a stroke survivor. Her brother-in-law rigged a rope pulley system to climb up to their house to deliver supplies. Their story was featured on ABC News.
SOME TANGIBLE WAYS TO HELP IF YOU’D LIKE
- My church, Ecclesia Baptist will put your donations to good use. Please know that we are facing months if not years of rebuilding. I can assure you that Ecclesia will use your donations to help victims of Helene, either now with emergency goods or in the coming weeks with clean-up and restoration. If you’d like to donate to us, please mark your donation “Helene Relief.”
- One of my favorite local charities is BeLoved Asheville. They do extraordinary work with our community’s most vulnerable population. Your donation to them will go to immediate relief.
- Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina and other organizations have instructions on building clean-up buckets. If your church or organization is looking for a project to help WNC, this would be a great one.
SOME OTHER IMPORTANT WAYS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
- Avoid fearmongering. Confirm information before sharing it on social media. This is a great nonpartisan organization. So is VerifyThis. And the tried and true snopes.com is also still a good resource.
- Share the good stuff: neighbors helping neighbors, recovery workers making a difference, supplies being delivered.
- Avoid blaming. It really is no one’s fault. Want to understand what happened? This from NBC News might help.
- Keep your politics to yourself. The last thing we need right now is more division. Comments like “Biden/Harris (or governor or mayor or whoever) really botched this! Shame on them!” are not helpful. Neither is “Well Biden/Harris did better than Trump/Vance would have done.” Give it a rest.
- Likewise, don’t use this tragedy to promote your candidate. Saying, “Make sure to vote Blue/Red so this won’t keep happening.” First of all it diverts attention from the situations that need it. Second of all it’s not true. Everything is more complicated than we usually think.
Remember us; we’ll be building back for a long, long time. If you are so inclined, please also pray for our community. There is nothing quite like the voices of God’s people joined in prayer for the common good. The sound of you praying for us reverberates from our beloved mountains; and we lift our heads, knowing you are with us, that God hears your prayers and ours, and that God’s love will light the way, even during this wide-awake nightmare.