The water was about 6 feet higher than the 1916 flood. The death toll on Helene is going to be way worse than 1916. I know it was Tragic for the people of 1916 as it is for people today. The population has exploded over the last 100 years which helped in making this storm taking lots more lives. I’m about 60 miles south of Asheville in Spartanburg SC. We had trees blocking every road. We had minor flooding. But Western NC got hit harder than when Hurricane Katrina came through the New Orleans area in 2005. I worked the areas around New Orleans after that storm and thought I’d never see that amount of destruction again. I really never expected it to happen so close to home.
Thank you for sharing what you have experienced. Sorry to hear what you are dealing with in SC. It truly is devastating for many people in several states.
@@GEEKORMAN we are good here compared to the ones just up the road. We had plenty of tree damage but so many up there lost everything. We’re going back up this weekend to help where we can.
Slightly more specific than a population boom, is a mass migration in the nation. People moving from halfway around the country makes for transplants that don’t understand, living in a certain climate. I would have no idea what to do during an earthquake because I’ve always lived in Florida. You can’t move from Nevada to the Carolinas and have the same historical knowledge as when your family lives in an area for 100 years or more. That’s definitely a contributing factor to the obvious lack of preparedness this time.
@@erikarice6859 I have to disagree. People that have lived in these mountains for generations wasn’t prepared. This doesn’t happen. We are over 400 miles from where Helene came on land. Hurricanes have usually faded out before they got this far. Even people that were great at preparing were not prepared for this disaster. In the Asheville area for example the water went 6 higher than the worst flood up to that point and that was back in 1916. None of us saw this coming. Didn’t matter if you lived here for 3 weeks or were born and raised here.
Close call. Helene was worse than 1916 - it was a Hurricane AND a Flood. The river crest height records set in 1916 everywhere in the area were broken by Helene (unfortunately many meters weren't functioning beforehand or washed away). The 1916 flood was caused in part by a hurricane but does not have as much reported wind damage. Helene affected roads/property nowhere near the water from wind. Tornadoes were embedded. The 1916 Flood however was caused by rain for days fueled by two separate storms end on end, one dumping 22" in an hour. The river/roads were less engineered by man then - which actually make water levels higher now, and the 1916 flood impressive. The 1916 flood affected Asheville area most seriously, there was devastation in other places of course but the mountains weren't as developed. Property damage is worse now. Helene destroyed or affected every town and road in a 100 mile radius of Asheville with wind and or water. Newer machinery/technology help us clean up/recover faster now as a plus. The Crash of 1929 came not long after 1916 when Asheville was on a rebound and then it was in debt for years.
1916 had more rain. The development obviously leads to more damage to property but does not make it a worse storm. Two weeks of straight rain, including 22" in one 24-hour period, 800 miles of RR tracks destroyed, and towns completely cut off for weeks. Helene also had lack of dam reservoir management that resulted in opening the spill gates way too late and added to the water levels. Simply because there were fewer people, roads, bridges, houses and Starbucks in 1916, does not make it any less devastating. The RR had an 800-foot-long temporary bridge over the river built within 12 days. The city borrowed money and had emergency contracts awarded within days of the storm in the amount of $50,000 to perform tasks such as clearing paths for pack mules to bring supplies. Recency bias is common with the weather mania we are exposed to on an hourly basis.
It's difficult to compare when circumstances are so different, as you rightly point out. The amount of development today is definitely a big difference. To some extent, it almost doesn't matter which flood is "worse." Both were devastating, and all the people who live through them want to do is get back to a normal life.
@@danlowe8684 Ill give you that. Crest heights were broken in 2024 but the rain lasted longer in 1916. Both are really bad. I do try and not have recency bias. thanks for info
Is it good it's good to hear the history. I live in Asheville now. With all the building, development and infrastructure for it, that's happened since then, I don't think the severity of damage from that storm can be compared to this at all. Assessing the level of damage that's happened now, will take years. I'm sure it was devastating for the population then. Asheville has grown exponentially through the years through since then. When an entire population has completely lost its infrastructure, it means total devastation and will take years to rebuild. Right now they're working around the clock to restore water and power service to the entire area. Prayers for the survivors would be nice.
So sorry that this has happened to all of you. I have donated and will continue to donate to relief and rebuilding efforts, and I encourage everyone to here to do what you can to help as well. I sincerely hope things do get restored as soon as possible up there. We wish you all the best.
There is stories about many, many communities sending supplies. I'm really wondering if these small communities are overwhelmed. They probably have supplies to help others.
Isn't it obvious that it's going to happen again... and seems like a legitimate guess to guess the next one will worse? Like it's probably gonna take 20 years to rebuild and average catastrophe is every 20 years..
Sadly, that's probably true. At least seems like that should be taken into consideration when rebuilding. Climate mitigation is probably also worth considering.
@GEEKORMAN it's just sad from my view.. any children that died was because their parents made the decision for them.. I could careless about people's properties.. but watching innocent children die is horrible...
@@13013134s ~ Who woulda guessed waaay up in the mountains that Helene woulda struck them? If they are already that high up...what are you to do? Maybe every human in the States should flee to the North Pole to escape Helene?
If you have any specific links to targeted relief efforts, please share them below. Thank you for all your help.
The water was about 6 feet higher than the 1916 flood. The death toll on Helene is going to be way worse than 1916. I know it was Tragic for the people of 1916 as it is for people today. The population has exploded over the last 100 years which helped in making this storm taking lots more lives. I’m about 60 miles south of Asheville in Spartanburg SC. We had trees blocking every road. We had minor flooding. But Western NC got hit harder than when Hurricane Katrina came through the New Orleans area in 2005. I worked the areas around New Orleans after that storm and thought I’d never see that amount of destruction again. I really never expected it to happen so close to home.
Thank you for sharing what you have experienced. Sorry to hear what you are dealing with in SC. It truly is devastating for many people in several states.
@@GEEKORMAN we are good here compared to the ones just up the road. We had plenty of tree damage but so many up there lost everything. We’re going back up this weekend to help where we can.
Thank you for all of your help!
Slightly more specific than a population boom, is a mass migration in the nation. People moving from halfway around the country makes for transplants that don’t understand, living in a certain climate. I would have no idea what to do during an earthquake because I’ve always lived in Florida. You can’t move from Nevada to the Carolinas and have the same historical knowledge as when your family lives in an area for 100 years or more. That’s definitely a contributing factor to the obvious lack of preparedness this time.
@@erikarice6859 I have to disagree. People that have lived in these mountains for generations wasn’t prepared. This doesn’t happen. We are over 400 miles from where Helene came on land. Hurricanes have usually faded out before they got this far. Even people that were great at preparing were not prepared for this disaster. In the Asheville area for example the water went 6 higher than the worst flood up to that point and that was back in 1916. None of us saw this coming. Didn’t matter if you lived here for 3 weeks or were born and raised here.
Close call. Helene was worse than 1916 - it was a Hurricane AND a Flood. The river crest height records set in 1916 everywhere in the area were broken by Helene (unfortunately many meters weren't functioning beforehand or washed away). The 1916 flood was caused in part by a hurricane but does not have as much reported wind damage. Helene affected roads/property nowhere near the water from wind. Tornadoes were embedded. The 1916 Flood however was caused by rain for days fueled by two separate storms end on end, one dumping 22" in an hour. The river/roads were less engineered by man then - which actually make water levels higher now, and the 1916 flood impressive. The 1916 flood affected Asheville area most seriously, there was devastation in other places of course but the mountains weren't as developed. Property damage is worse now. Helene destroyed or affected every town and road in a 100 mile radius of Asheville with wind and or water. Newer machinery/technology help us clean up/recover faster now as a plus. The Crash of 1929 came not long after 1916 when Asheville was on a rebound and then it was in debt for years.
Thanks for the perspective, it’s been hard to get a read on that outside of the area.
1916 had more rain. The development obviously leads to more damage to property but does not make it a worse storm. Two weeks of straight rain, including 22" in one 24-hour period, 800 miles of RR tracks destroyed, and towns completely cut off for weeks. Helene also had lack of dam reservoir management that resulted in opening the spill gates way too late and added to the water levels. Simply because there were fewer people, roads, bridges, houses and Starbucks in 1916, does not make it any less devastating. The RR had an 800-foot-long temporary bridge over the river built within 12 days. The city borrowed money and had emergency contracts awarded within days of the storm in the amount of $50,000 to perform tasks such as clearing paths for pack mules to bring supplies. Recency bias is common with the weather mania we are exposed to on an hourly basis.
It's difficult to compare when circumstances are so different, as you rightly point out. The amount of development today is definitely a big difference. To some extent, it almost doesn't matter which flood is "worse." Both were devastating, and all the people who live through them want to do is get back to a normal life.
@@danlowe8684 Ill give you that. Crest heights were broken in 2024 but the rain lasted longer in 1916. Both are really bad. I do try and not have recency bias. thanks for info
@@GEEKORMAN Well said.
I hope we learn to give rivers and streams more space.
Is it good it's good to hear the history. I live in Asheville now. With all the building, development and infrastructure for it, that's happened since then, I don't think the severity of damage from that storm can be compared to this at all. Assessing the level of damage that's happened now, will take years. I'm sure it was devastating for the population then. Asheville has grown exponentially through the years through since then.
When an entire population has completely lost its infrastructure, it means total devastation and will take years to rebuild. Right now they're working around the clock to restore water and power service to the entire area. Prayers for the survivors would be nice.
So sorry that this has happened to all of you. I have donated and will continue to donate to relief and rebuilding efforts, and I encourage everyone to here to do what you can to help as well. I sincerely hope things do get restored as soon as possible up there. We wish you all the best.
I sent foods and clothes and cleaning supplies last week. (from Bedford, Pa.)
Thank you for helping out! I’m sure the folks out there appreciate it.
There is stories about many, many communities sending supplies. I'm really wondering if these small communities are overwhelmed. They probably have supplies to help others.
THE BIBLE tells us these things will happen in the last days.
AMEN Bonnie! 📖⚖😱💫💣🦂🪲🦠💰🍞💸 ...🛐🛐🛐
🤦🏼♂️
I guess it’s been the “last days” for the past 2000 years 🤦🏼♂️
This flood is worse. The 1916 record for flood height was broken.
Truly heartbreaking
Isn't it obvious that it's going to happen again... and seems like a legitimate guess to guess the next one will worse? Like it's probably gonna take 20 years to rebuild and average catastrophe is every 20 years..
Sadly, that's probably true. At least seems like that should be taken into consideration when rebuilding. Climate mitigation is probably also worth considering.
@GEEKORMAN it's just sad from my view.. any children that died was because their parents made the decision for them.. I could careless about people's properties.. but watching innocent children die is horrible...
What decision was it that the parentsmade that allowed the child to die?@13013134s
@@unapologeticallyauthentic not evacuating.. by staying in a flood zone..
@@13013134s ~ Who woulda guessed waaay up in the mountains that Helene woulda struck them? If they are already that high up...what are you to do? Maybe every human in the States should flee to the North Pole to escape Helene?
Looks to me like people should consider this flooding that occurs every twenty years and not live there!!!!
At least in the particular areas that keep flooding out, yes. Also, developers should maybe not be allowed to build on unsteady slopes.
That's sad too many rivers that's what causes the flood
Ive got your wettest September on record right here
I've got your pouring 22 inches right here