#NCDOT resumes intercity bus service to #Asheville nearly 1 year after #HurricaneHelene | abc11.com

https://abc11.com/post/ncdot-resumes-intercity-bus-service-asheville-1-year-hurricane-helene/17415653/

Once the reconstruction is complete, we can relocate our special-needs cats into a larger area. They will have more windows to observe the birds and trees outside.

Skittle and Cutie will be back in their room after all these months. We are so thankful they were not hurt during the hurricane when the tree fell into the corner of the house that was their room.

After all these long months since Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc back in September 2024, our reconstruction guys are finally almost finished with the house repairs.

Thus far, our damaged corner of the house is being repaired to a better-than-original condition.

So many homes in our area are still damaged and awaiting repairs. Our home had a huge tree in it, but we were still better off than many of our neighbors.

#NorthCarolina #HurricaneHelene #FEMA

"The government stepped in to clean up a disaster in North Carolina. Then they created another one.

Debris removal after Hurricane Helene did more damage to the environment than the storm itself in some parts of the state, scientists claim.

The small section of forest before me looked as though it was clear-cut. The ground was flat and treeless, covered in a thin layer of jumbled sticks and leaves.

This region, a wetland formed by beavers near the South Carolina border, was flooded last September by Hurricane Helene. But it wasn’t the storm that razed the forest. It was the machines that came after. They were part of a hurricane cleanup effort, bankrolled by the federal government, that many environmental experts believe went very, very wrong.

Helene hit North Carolina in late September last year, dumping historic amounts of rain that damaged thousands of homes, killed more than 100 people, and littered rivers with debris including fallen trees, building fragments, and cars. In the months since, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has sponsored an enormous cleanup effort in western North Carolina. It focused, among other things, on clearing debris from waterways for public safety. Storm debris left in rivers and streams can create jams that make them more likely to flood in the future.

In some parts of the state, however, cleanup crews contracted by the federal government removed much more than just dangerous debris. According to several state biologists, environmental experts, and my own observations from a recent trip to the area, contractors in some regions cleared live trees still rooted in the ground, logs that were in place well before the storm, and other natural features of the habitat that may not have posed a risk to public safety."

https://www.vox.com/down-to-earth/420513/flooding-debris-removal-hurricane-helene-wildlife

One week from today, we'll be hosting author Michael Holcombe for a presentation on his new book, "The Story of Asheville's Water"—the first history of our municipal water, from the 1797 incorporation of the city to post-Helene recovery.

Michael was Asheville's water resources director throughout much of the 1990s and set out to write "The Story of Asheville's Water" after the infamous municipal outage of December 2022. His work uncovers the remarkable degree to which Asheville is a city built on water, from its early beginnings to its promised future as a "climate haven."

This 45 minute presentation will be followed by an audience Q&A and book signing. Full details can be found at https://firestorm.coop/events/3430-the-story-of-ashevilles-water-with-author-michael-l-holcombe.html.

#AshevilleWatershed #HurricaneHelene #ClimateHaven #WaterIsLife #FirestormCoop (- L)

Hurricane Helene exposed Yancey County's vulnerability as unheard warnings led to unprepared communities along the Cane River. #HurricaneHelene #ClimateVulnerability #DisasterPreparedness

https://propub.li/4jl3dGg

For many Florida residents still recovering from #HurricaneHelene and #HurricaneMilton, it seems like last season never ended. Stay safe and be kind. #BePrepared #HaveAPlan #DisasterPreparedness #ResilienceMatters
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/managing-change-storm-season-nivine-k-zakhari-2u69e

One week from today, our post-Helene reading group is back with a very appropriate new book pick! Participants will be reading "Theory of Water: Nishnaabe Maps to the Times Ahead" by renowned scholar and activist Leanne Betasamosake Simpson.

New folks welcome!

"Theory of Water" is a resonant exploration of an intricate, multi-layered relationship with the most abundant element on our planet—one that is shaping our present even as it demands a radical rethinking of how we might achieve a just future. Copies are available at a discount from our co-op and will be made available without charge to participants who cannot afford a purchase.

This series is co-facilitated by Lauren Miller and will include four sessions bisected by a potluck. Additional details and schedule can be found at https://firestorm.coop/events/3423-theory-of-water-a-disaster-reading-group.html.

#HurricaneHelene #MutualAidDisasterRelief #TheoryOfWater #AnarchistBookClub #FeministBookstore #FirestormCoop (- L)