Aftermath of Hurricane Helene in the NC mountains, late fall 2024

[Benny Profane]

Furgetabout the Appalachian trail for a year or two.

After Helene’s ‘Historic’ Damage, Appalachian Trail May Need Years to Recover

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/05/us/appalachian-trail-helene-damage.html?smid=nytcore-android-share

 

[MarzNC]

But, were there warnings in Asheville? Did anybody expect 22 inches of rain? Maybe some, of course, but this came on quick and was far from expected.

Yes, there were warnings in Asheville. Evacuation was recommended starting on Thursday. The worst of the rain began early Friday morning.

As Brad, the Chief Meteorologist, pointed out, the fact that rain early in the week would mean the ground was saturated before Helene hit western NC was becoming obvious by Tuesday. Looking at pictures and the water depth gauges is another clear indication that the flooding would be worse than usual.

The man who has been doing videos about Chimney Rock started filming before Friday. Here's what he experienced.

September 26, 2024 (Helene hit western NC on Sept. 27)

 

[MarzNC]

In the middle of this video, there's a look at a large mudslide in the middle of nowhere. The man did some bushwhacking (with daughter?) to check on good friends. He knew the general area well. The road was impassable for a few days, then only open to locals with 4WD. As it turned out the friend's brother was also worried and took another approach. He used a small helicopter. Happened to arrive at about the same time as the hikers.

October 3, 2024 - starting about 7 min mark

 

[Tjf1967]

Quite true.

However, the situation for Asheville is a very mixed bag when it comes to personal financial status. Go back 20-30 years and the average income was probably much lower. The newcomers who are retirees in that particular area are pretty well off. Some of the houses cut off because roads were washed away are 3000+ sq ft. Just as there were people around Lake Placid who could write big checks to help fund local efforts to fix roads and bridges quickly after a storm that hit a couple weeks before the important fall colors tourist season.

I can't think of any rich people that jumped in with their own cash after Irene.

 

[MarzNC]

I can't think of any rich people that jumped in with their own cash after Irene.

It happened. I know someone who is a long time owner/operator of a B&B. Don't remember the details of what he said later on, but the usual restrictions were dropped in order to allow locals to fix a few key access roads and bridges near Lake Placid in time for the important few weeks of fall color tourism that year.

Fair to say that there are many locals in western NC who are clearing roads, using farm equipment to repair bridges, and so on. There are private jets ferrying needed supplies from Raleigh. I'm looking around at far more info than I'm bothering to post here.

 

[MarzNC]

First part of this video shows where the road to Chimney Rock from Bat Cave used to be . . . unreal. Starting about 6:30, get to see the wind on Sept. 27 and then what his house on the hill looked like after the rain and wind quit. Only way to get supplies like water to Chimney Rock is by airdrop. The bridge to the town of Lake Lure on the other side of Chimney Rock is gone.

Chimney Rock was a private park that became a NC State Park decades ago. I remember visiting with my parents in the 1970s. The village retail strip (3 blocks long) is across the river from the park. Many buildings that were between the 2-lane highway and the river are a total loss, or not even there any more.

October 2, 2024

I kept checking Mark Huneycutt's YouTube channel for more about Chimney Rock. He's also the one who posted the video of the water at the small airport in Hendersonville. As he noted in that video, he was born and raised in the area, and so was his father.

Mark walked from Bat Cave to Chimney Rock in order to see first-hand what was happening (10 miles round trip). The road from the west is gone is many places, mostly because the fast moving water on Sept. 27 carved out the river banks so much. Turns there there is active clean up happening in Chimney Rock. On the way back, Mark talked with a woman who had a home across from the Bat Cave Post Office. She and her husband survived because they realized in time they had to get much higher ground than they originally planned. She showed him what's left of the living room. The road to Bat Cave is partially washed out in many places, which is obvious as he rode out on his motorcycle.

Mark found out the story behind the Lake Lure police car. It was hit by a landslide during the Friday morning of the storm as an officer was driving on the road. The officer is fine.

October 4, 2024, 20 min

 

[Peter Minde]

I can't think of any rich people that jumped in with their own cash after Irene.

Marlene Prescott, may she rest in peace. Not rich. She owned the Brookside Motel in Upper Jay. After Irene, she fed or put up a lot of local people who had lost their houses. A regular shero.

 

[x10003q]

Building codes in North Carolina have not been updated for many years. The lawmakers have had a super majority (R) and continue to have a super majority over Gov Roy Cooper (D) and have overruled his vetoes. In 2023, the NC lawmakers have managed to delay building codes updates until 2031. When states do not update the codes they make it harder for the state to qualify for FEMA grants.

It also makes is more dangerous and deadly for residents of these homes.

"Over the past 15 years, North Carolina lawmakers have rejected limits on construction on steep slopes, which might have reduced the number of homes lost to landslides; blocked a rule requiring homes to be elevated above the height of an expected flood; weakened protections for wetlands, increasing the risk of dangerous storm water runoff; and slowed the adoption of updated building codes, making it harder for the state to qualify for federal climate-resilience grants."

"Every three years, the International Code Council, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., issues new model building codes developed by engineers, architects, home builders and local officials."

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/03/climate/north-carolina-homes-helene-building-codes.html

North Carolina lawmakers override veto of bill that delays building code updates

North Carolina won't be revising its outdated energy efficiency rules for new homes anytime soon. On Wednesday, the House and Senate both voted to override Gov. Roy Cooper's veto of House Bill 488. The new law blocks the state Building Code Council from updating key sections of the state...

www.wfae.org

North Carolina lawmakers erode building code for years before Helene hit

A WBTV Investigation is shining a light on how North Carolina lawmakers and lobbyists weakened the state’s building code for years before Hurricane Helene hit. The history reveals a pattern of bills sponsored by legislators who own construction companies, supported by a political action...

www.wbtv.com

 

[Benny Profane]

There's not a lot of money down there. Either natives or retirees. Some Boomers retire there because it's cheap and beautiful is a bonus. I was down there a few months ago in Franklin visiting a buddy who did just that. If you start enforcing "climate friendly" codes, you'll wind up putting thousands of homeless on the streets of Charlotte and Atlanta. And the the big money buys up the dreggs. Like after the fire on Maui.

 

[MarzNC]

Building codes in North Carolina have not been updated for many years. The lawmakers have had a super majority (R) and continue to have a super majority over Gov Roy Cooper (D) and have overruled his vetoes. In 2023, the NC lawmakers have managed to delay building codes updates until 2031. When states do not update the codes they make it harder for the state to qualify for FEMA grants.

It also makes is more dangerous and deadly for residents of these homes.

"Over the past 15 years, North Carolina lawmakers have rejected limits on construction on steep slopes, which might have reduced the number of homes lost to landslides; blocked a rule requiring homes to be elevated above the height of an expected flood; weakened protections for wetlands, increasing the risk of dangerous storm water runoff; and slowed the adoption of updated building codes, making it harder for the state to qualify for federal climate-resilience grants."

"Every three years, the International Code Council, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., issues new model building codes developed by engineers, architects, home builders and local officials."

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/03/climate/north-carolina-homes-helene-building-codes.html

North Carolina lawmakers override veto of bill that delays building code updates

North Carolina won't be revising its outdated energy efficiency rules for new homes anytime soon. On Wednesday, the House and Senate both voted to override Gov. Roy Cooper's veto of House Bill 488. The new law blocks the state Building Code Council from updating key sections of the state...

www.wfae.org

North Carolina lawmakers erode building code for years before Helene hit

A WBTV Investigation is shining a light on how North Carolina lawmakers and lobbyists weakened the state’s building code for years before Hurricane Helene hit. The history reveals a pattern of bills sponsored by legislators who own construction companies, supported by a political action...

www.wbtv.com

I read that article. But what I'm wondering is what percentage of the houses that are a total loss because of mudslides and landslides last week were built in the last decade. In particular in the Asheville area. The population of the Asheville metropolitan area essentially doubled from 2000 to 2023.