Good Morning, Friends,

For those who haven’t followed my previous posts, we live in a rural mountain community in Swannanoa, NC, and were hit hard by the unprecedented destruction caused by Hurricane (later Tropical Storm) Helene. I’ve been sharing regular updates to chronicle our recovery efforts and, naturally, to highlight the vital role amateur radio has played throughout.

---

Normalization

Things are moving forward here with both our family and our community.

The past two weeks have involved the administrative tasks that come with the property damage from an event like Hurricane Helene: dealing with insurance/FEMA, banking, gathering estimates, budgeting for clean-up, arranging contractors, and so forth.

Last week, the adjuster for our vacation rental came out and was incredibly thorough. We learned that the tree landing on the roof not only poked through the master bedroom ceiling (which we knew) but also damaged the rafters on that side of the house.

The impact even separated the ceiling drywall from the walls, and the oak floors will need replacing. It will require more work than we initially anticipated.

The challenge now is getting this work done before spring of next year (when the tourist season starts back up). We’ll need to find contractors to work on both the vacation rental and our residence. Fortunately, the repairs to our home are less extensive and can wait until the rental is fixed.

Our neighbors on the road are also working through everything with their insurance. Now that the road is passable, adjusters can reach each house more easily.

We’re also setting up FEMA inspections to help cover some costs that insurance may not, such as debris removal and damage to the driveway and our multi-family road.

As I mentioned in a previous update, despite misinformation spreading around, FEMA has been excellent. They were among the first on-site, checking in on everyone post-Helene, arranging supply drops, and assisting with applications. We received initial assistance quite promptly.

Goodbye, Ella Sue

Another milestone: Our beloved Subaru Forester made its final journey.

This car, which has served as a fantastic POTA mobile over the years, accumulated nearly 150K miles with our family since 2017. It’s been a workhorse and still ran like new. While I dread the search for a replacement, we’re likely to get another Subaru, though it won’t be easy with the current shortage of used cars in our area post-storm. Any used car we consider will need a thorough inspection to ensure it wasn’t previously flooded.

Yesterday in town, we noticed a lot of temporary license plates, reflecting just how many people are replacing their vehicles post-Helene.

Thankfully, we still have the C40, so we’re not in a hurry.

Our Subaru went through a lot over the years. You might remember when a bear got in and tore up the interior after opening all four doors looking for food, even though we’d been careful to remove everything edible. Earlier this year, it was rear-ended by a one-ton truck on I-40 and still got us safely to my mother’s funeral on time.

Then, during Helene, two trees landed on the hood. When the tow company arrived, they managed to start it up and drive it down the hill, even though the engine had been pinned under heavy trees for over a week.

Ella Sue was tough!

More Aftermath

As more local roads open, we’re seeing a clearer picture of what happened along the Swannanoa River.

Yesterday, my wife and I drove down Old Hwy 70 for a dentist appointment and saw that the flood line had reached over one story high in places. Trees along the road were littered with debris swept down by the floodwaters, including clothing, toys, roofing materials, and even vehicles wrapped around trunks.

Heather and I noticed a park bench still lodged high in a tree, the same one I spotted during my mountain bike ride into Black Mountain in late September–two days after Helene hit

Driving along that stretch, it looked as though the flood had just happened, even though it’s been over a month. A large section of Old 70 remains closed for road repairs, and piles of debris still line the road—remnants of so many homes and businesses.

I didn’t take photos along Old Hwy 70 because I was driving, and there were too many construction vehicles working to repair the road and clear away debris. Even after a month, the sheer amount of debris—pieces of people’s lives—piled up along the road was staggering, and it’s taken this long just to clear a path.

Gratitude

Seeing all this, we’re so grateful that none of our friends or family lost their lives in this storm. The official death toll for NC has exceeded 100, with some people still unaccounted for.

I’ve also seen news about the catastrophic flooding in eastern Spain and Andalucía. Our hearts go out to everyone affected there—the toll is just unimaginable, especially in densely populated areas.

GMRS Community Radio Update

Our GMRS radio network is coming together here on our road and in the valley.

I tested our new repeater, and it’s working beautifully across the entire road, even handling a 1,000’ (305m) elevation change. I can reach it from Swannanoa, Black Mountain, and even parts of east Asheville.

I’m currently evaluating handheld GMRS radios to recommend models that work best for our neighbors.

So far, I’ve tested a pair of Baofeng UV-5G Plus handhelds (QRPer affiliate link), which are relatively user-friendly, though the red text on a blue background (in the settings menu) is hard to read in sunlight. I’m awaiting two more models: a TidRadio TD H8 and Baofeng GM-15 Pro and I plan to get the Radioddity GM-30 Plus  (again, QRPer affiliate links).

I should have received both of these radios a week ago, but Amazon shipping to Swannanoa is still problematic. Even though I’ve been sending all of my shipments to official Amazon lockers (instead of to our post office) both radios from separate orders failed to deliver. Amazon cancelled the orders and I called customer service to have them replaced.

Delivery disruptions like this are understandable given the circumstances. Patience is key!

If anyone has other recommendations for GMRS handhelds with USB-C charging, please let me know in the comments. I’ll eventually post a review of all these models.

Four Words: Thank you so much!

As always, I’m incredibly grateful for the kindness and support from this community. If I haven’t responded to your emails or comments yet, please know it’s because I’ve been focused on helping my family and neighbors.

A special thank you to Vince (VE6LK), who managed QRPer.com for all of October—a massive help! Since things are starting to normalize here, I’m ready to resume site management.

To everyone who reached out with messages (well over 300!), thank you so much. Though I may not be able to reply to all of them, please know I’ve read every word, and your support means the world to us.

Thank you all for being such an incredible community and support network!

Wishing you the very best this weekend!

Cheers & 72,
Thomas (K4SWL)