It's been a Helena time

Finally, I am able to post something while I have wifi access at a Verizon Hotspot in downtown Asheville. You have no doubt seen some awful images of the destruction in Western NC. While I live about 5 miles N of Asheville, and not in a flood zone, we did get hammered with the winds last week. It's been 11 days without power and running water. Other than one pine hitting our roof, we sustained little damage to our home. I can't say that the rest of the county and surrounding region has been that lucky. The River Arts District of AVL has been largely obliterated, with only some buildings standing - all of which are brick, and not cinder blocks. The 1916 flood was the lasert one to compare to, and it reached 21 ft. This one reached 25 feet. Before Helene struck us, we'd already had 11" of rainfall from another weather system. People that have lived here a long time cannot remember a hurricane hitting the mountains. I have taken a lot of images, and none of them do justice to the vast amount of devastation suffered by some areas. I'll post some when I have a good upload capability. There is a lot going on with relief and supplies, and I am hopeful that we will soon have our power restored. Take care, Mark