A message from a person involved in rescue operations in NC. Hey everybody. We are OK. The devastation to WNC is unfathomable. Officials calling it biblical. It's being called a 2nd Katrina in the mountains. The reported death toll is 10 [it's over 200 now]. I will tell you from working rescues yesterday, our morgues are full and we are stacking bodies in warehouses. I watched multiple people drown as we attempted to rescue them. Yesterday we were cutting bodies out of trees. Portions of the interstate are gone. Feds are bringing in Chinooks with supplies & a train of semis from SC. 26 is open into Ashville. We have no water for our entire region. Our reservoir was compromised. Main water line to AVL broke. No known ETA when water will be restgored. AVL grocery stores / Walmart etc. all looted. Our home is good. But the gravel road to it (1/2 mile long) is gone. No idea when we will be able to get out. I was working when the storm hit and Erica was able to get a text to me. She said the road was collapsing. They let me leave to evacuate them. I was able to drive within a mile of the house. I had to hike in. We grabbed large camping backpacks & loaded them with food, batteries, & flashlights. We had to bushwhack out to get them to safety. This will all make for a wild podcast one day. I'll be needing therapy to process all the death & destruction.

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Keith D Johnson (keithdjohnson@sfba.social)'s status on Saturday, 05-Oct-2024 00:35:10 JST

From FB.

"The devastation to WNC is unfathomable. Officials calling it biblical, a 2nd Katrina in the mountains.
The reported death toll is 10 [it's over 200 now]. I will tell you from working rescues yesterday, our morgues are full & we are stacking bodies in warehouses. I watched multiple people drown as we attempted to rescue them.
Yesterday we were cutting bodies out of trees.
Portions of the interstate are gone. Feds are bringing in Chinooks with supplies & a train of semis from SC.
We have no water for our entire region. Our reservoir was compromised. Main water line to AVL broke. No known ETA when water will be restored. AVL grocery stores / Walmart etc. all looted.
Our home is good. But the gravel road to it is gone. No idea when we will be able to get out.
They let me leave to evacuate them. I was able to drive within a mile of the house. I had to hike in. We grabbed camping backpacks & loaded them with food, batteries, & flashlights. We had to bushwhack out to get them to safety."

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