Boyfriends sister said her trailer is gone and area is completely destroyed. But she's safe

That's awful, glad no one got hurt.

My power was out for about 12 hours, minor inconvience compared to what so many others are going through.

Well, we evacuated Thursday - to a hotel only a few blocks away on the mainland, and watched from our windows during the night as the storm surge came in - about 6 feet on average, I understand.

We had 21 inches of stormwater inside our house - and so did all our neighbors on the barrier islands - those on the beaches had even more. It's an unbelievable mess - yesterday morning we came back and started cleaning up and clearing out - the streets are lined with ginormous piles of home furnishings and possessions. Things that were less than 2 feet above the floors are destroyed. No power, and in many areas, no safe water supply, all major appliances destroyed too.

Still in shock a bit. Our area was 100 miles away from the hurricane.

We're staying at an AirBnB for a week, and hopefully by then we may be able to go back home, but our A/C was actually swept away , so we'll need a new one - that and a bed. Thankful for terrazzo floors, our neighbor had carpet and laminate floors.

Also thankful we have plaster and concrete walls and a metal roof.

So sorry Carol. Yes, if it was sheetrock, it would of had to been replaced. Just cleaning has to be a real b. Did you have a boat? You were on the east side and that is the worst side of a hurricane. We are in Huntsville and had a lot of rain , but nothing like Atlanta, which is not that far away.

So sorry, Carol

I’m glad that you are safe, though.

Oh mercy. That is just awful. Hopefully you can get back in soon. Good luck with getting the help you need.

Oh, Carol, that's awful. Glad you made it out of there and are safe.

Thanks all, no boat, but we may be able get one now for cheap - there are 3 that landed in a park nearby.

They finally allowed people back on to the barrier islands first on foot or bike only, and then today they finally opened to vehicles, and the traffic was insane.

There's just so much to throw away - and I had so many books and other ephemera that went in the trash - and we're not even done yet!

And I keep thinking about those discussions of Swedish death cleaning. Looks like we've been forced into that now.

Oh wow, that sucks Carol. So sorry. My neighborhood flooded back in the early 90s. One problem that people caused for themselves was accidentally cutting their wires behind the drywall as they were cutting out the wet drywall. Be careful with the saws.

Did you see the Biltmore in NC? Craziness!

No drywall in our house - maybe the bathroom or kitchen, I'm not sure. Hoping we can get power back but almost all the outlets were submerged, and our wiring is old.

Crazy is putting it mildly, I think.

Im so sorry to hear your terrible news. Im glad you and your family are safe

Carol, I’m so sorry about your home and all the clean-up you face. Nothing worse than water damage. Thanks for checking in.

JoanM, I had not seen anything about the Biltmore. Thanks. We were supposed to go visit in a few weeks. Off to Google.

I'm sorry , Carol, for the destruction that you're enduring. I hope it goes as smoothly for you as possible.

Our area was 100 miles away from the hurricane.

Oh Carol...I'm so sorry. I'm glad your warm and safe at an AirBNB at least for now.

I'm so sorry carol. Such a mess! But I'm thankful your house is still in tact. Some of the pictures of the destruction are just awful...nothing left to entire neighborhoods, houses floating down raging rivers. I heard on the news this a.m. that there are still 3 mil without power. My friend is in far western SC and she said the eye went right over her. Fortunately she was only out of power for some hours. Just terrible. And now they say there's another potential storm system forming in the gulf. Yikes!

There is catastrophic devasation in Asheville NC. My son lives there and I’ve been on the internet nonstop trying to keep him informed. He has limited cell service and has to drive about 2 miles to get service but it is sporadic. All interstates and major roads are closed. I-26 S opened this morning, but as of now the local roads to it are closed so he can’t access it to drive to our house in Georgia. I-40 West has one lane open coming into Asheville for emergency vehicles and supplies only. Helicopters are dropping water and some food. Major flooding and landslides occurred. Prior to Helene hitting the area on Friday morning, there was a major weather front that dropped close to 10 inches of rain. Helene dropped an additonal 9 inches of rain. There is very minimal national reporting because there are no roads in to Asheville and no cell/internet service. As of this morning, 11 fatalities and 1000 unaccounted for. Please keep this area in your thoughts and prayers.

Unbelievable devastation from this storm. Glad you are ok Carol but looks like you've got a long road ahead of you to clean-up, replace, and repair.

DLM had posted that before Helene, they had 14” of rain up there, and we haven’t heard from her since. I hope she is ”only” without internet and that all is well!

Carol, I feel so bad for you and others that have been put out of their homes. I'm glad you are physically safe, though.

shayvet, hope your son and others get what they need to survive.

Shayvet, hope your son can get to your place soon. It will be a long journey for Asheville to rebuild. Glad to hear they are getting food and water now.

Thanks Kathsgrdn. He gassed up his truck before Helene hit so once the roads are passable he can come home. All of the power substations were flooded so reports imdicate it would be weeks or longer for repairs or replacement. In the meantime he has food and water for a few more days. And he is quite resourceful - has water filtration system as he camps and hikes quite a bit . He told me he has plans to use water from his water heater if he runs out. Has enough propane canisters for heating up beans, making rice/pasta. I streamed the local news channel and it reported 30 deaths and now 600 unaccounted for. He called me about an hour ago to check in and let me know that he and his girlfriend are Ok for now. He will stay there for a day or two and then he and his girlfriend plan to come here for the duration. The sheriff office requested for everyone to stay off the roads so that rescue units and supply trucks can do their job. Verizon is bringing in trucks with cell tower and satellite systems so relatives can contact their loved ones. He got lucky in that he found the small pocket where he could get cell service and will check in with me once a day. I’ve offered my home to 2 of his friends as well. A friend here has offered a furnished rental house if he knows anyone else in need of temporary housing. So sad for all the devastation across the southeast. I hope others receive the help they need.

Carol, so sorry.

Shayvet, my sister is in Asheville too. She texted me once this morning, but no other communication. They just put in a generater, thank goodness.

I believe DLM is in a close by area.

eld6161, so glad your sister was able to contact you. I’m grateful that my son has been able to find cell service and communicate with me. This hurricane certainly has affected so many. bpath, hoping you hear from DLM soon.

I watched the story of Asheville on CNN while on my daughter's Nordic Track . (Raining outside). The devastation is horrific and although I have never been there, I hear it's a quite lovely area. It will be a long recovery. These weather events will occur more and more frequently because of climate change. Yes ,we have always had hurricanes but when the ocean water is so hot they are intensified. My best thoughts to those who are suffering.

The saddest part is that they left Florida because they hit tured of hurricane season. Yet in the over 30 years there they exoerienced nothing close to this.

Wow! I just saw video of Chimney Rock and Lake Lure NC. I had land there for a few years, snowbird dreams. I sold it maybe two years ago. The town is gone! The road next to Lake Lure is gone. They have no water and are trapped!

I wish I could do something. Western NC got absolutely hammered and people are in danger still. Not to diminish the damage to FL and GA and TN but OMG, I just saw the video of Lake Lure for the first time. Holy crap! They were not ready for this. Who could be?

Shayvet, I hope your so makes it tomyour home soon. Asheville photos look awful. I was really sad to see all the damage, especially the historic Biltmore Village area, which is near the entrance to the Biltmore mansion and grounds. Our favorite Ashville restaurant is in the Village and I’m sure it’s been under water. We were supposed to visit in a couple of weeks but have cancelled plans of course. I still have not been able to determine what has happened on the grounds of the Mansion.

That's horrible Eld6161.

It's just going to get worse, I'm afraid. Just watching a news program about the flooding, so much mud left. Sad to think they may never find some people. Floods in southeastern Ky last year, one person still hasn't been found.

OutsidePlaying - Most of the buildings in Biltmore Village had at least 8 ft of flooding. Very sad to see the historic area with so much damage. There have been no reports about the Biltmore House and surrounding gardens. I was there in May for the Chihuly Exhibit. And my sister and I had been making plans to go see the Biltmore in early December as I’ve never experienced it all decorated for Christmas. I think and hope no damage occurred to the house itself. I think it sits high enough up that hopefully it was spared all the destruction. Other than the Bass Pond and the lake around the Deerfield Park area, I dont recall any rivers that might have caused flooding.