Good Morning, Friends,

If you haven’t read my previous posts, here’s the situation in a nutshell: we live in a rural mountain community in Swannanoa, NC, where the bridge connecting us to the outside world was swept away during the 1,000-year flood event caused by Tropical Storm Helene. We’ve also confirmed that a tornado swept through our valley, which explains the large number of trees down on houses and roads.

It’s Been One Week

Honestly, time has no meaning these days as everything blends together. At our community meeting yesterday, someone asked what day it was, and we all looked at each other for a few seconds before someone finally chimed in, “I think it’s Friday.”

That said, it’s been one week (and one day) since the remnants of Helene hit our region of western North Carolina. Looking at the progress we’ve made together—along with generous outside help—it’s hard to believe we’ve accomplished so much in such a short period of time.

Egress

Yesterday morning, it was confirmed: a construction crew came up our road with special equipment (like track hoes and a dump truck that can dump over the cab) and patched it up. They’ve made temporary repairs, allowing vehicles with reasonable ground clearance to pass.

We are over the moon about this.

The day before, the Sheriff’s department had knocked on all our doors advising us to evacuate, warning that our road would soon be gone. Being the proactive community we are, we scouted out an old Forest Service road to see if it could serve as an alternate egress. Unfortunately, that road was a no-go—it had been hit hard by the winds and would have been a monumental task to clear.

So discovering yesterday morning that the road had been repaired enough for us to drive out was a huge morale boost. It’s nice to know that getting off and on the mountain no longer requires a two-mile hike with a 1,000’ elevation change!

That said, the repair work is temporary. FEMA has labeled it “unpassable” because it doesn’t meet any DOT standards and is not for the faint of heart. One neighbor managed to convince a propane truck to fill his tank yesterday, but the white-knuckled driver said the company wouldn’t send any more trucks up our road until it’s permanently repaired by the DOT.

In our family, we’re aware that portions of the road could disappear again due to weather and/or heavy use.

Still, we’re so relieved to have egress again.

Amateur Radio: A Superpower in a Disaster

Using amateur radio, we had arranged for a helicopter drop of supplies to the upper part of our road. The team behind this effort was absolutely amazing. They’re mostly ex-military volunteers who use their skills to get aid into areas quickly.

This was all arranged with one call on the Mount Mitchell repeater on Wednesday evening. Dennis (N4DIN), stationed at the Swannanoa Fire Department (our local command center), put in the call, and Ed (N4EDX) arranged for Mike and Jay from the team to hike up our road and survey a potential landing site.

Arrangements were made for a Friday helicopter delivery.

However, since our road was patched up late Thursday, we felt the helicopter delivery of aid would be better used elsewhere, as so many other communities are just as bad off—or worse—than we are.

I mention this because, during our Wednesday evening neighborhood meeting, we agreed a helicopter drop would be ideal, as most aid was being delivered at the bottom of our road, and we had no idea when or how it was coming.

Someone asked, “How do we even request something like this?” I told them I’d ask net control on the N2GE repeater. By the time I got back to the house, everything had been arranged—within 30 seconds of my request on the N2GE (Mount Mitchell) emergency net.

Since our amateur radio emergency communications team is directly connected to our local emergency services command center, you can make requests for aid directly to the source. There’s no email, text message, or phone call to get lost in the shuffle—it just happens, without hesitation.

As it should.

FEMA

This week, two FEMA teams also visited us. They documented the damage at each property, accounted for everyone living here, and even brought a K9 team in case searches were needed.

I spoke with four different FEMA personnel, and they all commented on how self-reliant our neighborhood was compared with so many others they had surveyed—especially those in more urban areas. I’ll admit we’re lucky to have neighbors with so many practical skills. As I’ve mentioned before, preparedness is a way of life in a mountain community like ours.

One small example: I don’t know a single person on our road who doesn’t own at least one chainsaw and know how to fuel it, sharpen it, and service it. It’s a necessity. A tree can fall any day of the week and block a road or driveway. Chainsaw skills are essential and that’s why we so easily worked together to completely clear our road in short order.

5th Battalion 113 Field Artillery

Speaking of sawing, yesterday a crew from the Army National Guard showed up with three RSVs (Re-Supply Vehicles) and a Humvee, asking how they could help.

They used the artillery crane on the back of one of the RSVs to remove a massive, splintered tree from a neighbor’s driveway.

They also helped clear the road, and when I got home, I found a team clearing the mass of trees blocking our carport and one of our cars.

They were incredible, and we are so grateful. What they accomplished in a few hours would have taken me days.

1,000-Year Flood Event

According to Jordan McLeod on Facebook:

“In the map below, locations covered by dark blue shading observed 3-day rainfall totals associated with Helene that exceeded an annual recurrence interval of 1,000 years. In other words, there is less than a 0.1% chance of these rainfall totals occurring in any given year. Pretty much a worst-case scenario in many areas of western North Carolina.”

While we were prepared for flooding in low-lying areas, we never expected what actually unfolded.

Donations

Many have asked where they can donate to help with relief in the areas affected by Helene. Here are a few NGOs that I’ve personally seen at work here in Swannanoa. There are many more incredible organizations, private groups, and individuals making up the relief efforts, but I feel confident your donations will be put to good use by these organizations:

• World Central Kitchen
• Samaritan’s Purse International
• Crisis Response International
• American Red Cross

There are many more local non-profits helping as well.

Continued Updates

I will continue to update and try to answer some of your questions. As of this morning, I have about 250 emails in the inbox. I’m reading them all, but my time is so limited that I simply can’t reply to each one.

Know that I appreciate every message and offer of assistance.

I had planned to cover a few more topics this morning, but I’ll save them for Monday. I’ve got some tasks to get started on this morning.

Again, we’re all safe and doing well. We have plenty of food, and thanks to our solar system (installed earlier this year), we even have power to keep the internet, fridge, and freezer running. We’re grateful for this, as our satellite internet has become a community resource—two neighbors are using our Wi-Fi as I type this.

Warmest regards & 72,
Thomas (K4SWL)