Hurricane Helene - Cowboy Check In (And Clubs Too)

[Dogmeat Dad, SASS #48563L]

With so many folks in so many areas impacted by Hurricane Helene, I find myself constantly wondering about folks I know and if they are OK.  Some I have reached out to, but I don't have contact information for many of my Cowboy pards, I don't do Facebook, and even if I did, a lot of folks are dealing with far more important things at the moment.

 

Not sure how far this will go, but I thought maybe having a Cowboy Check-In thread might allow folks to post that they are doing OK, or know of someone that is doing OK from one of the affected areas.  I know lots of folks in Florida got hit hard, Georgia and Tennessee too, but the Carolina's and especially North Carolina, seemed to have gotten the worst of this storm and got totally slammed by Helene.  I suspect they will be weeks just assess the damage.

 

For the record, Holli and I were in Maryland when the storm hit so we are OK.  I will need to make a trip down to FL to check out our place at some point, but the last thing they need at the moment is another person sucking up resources from the area.  Power was out for about 48 hours, the complex was flooded and the first floor of our building appears to have had some water intrusion, but the building itself was still standing and we are up a few floors so we should be OK there.

 

I know that some of my FL pards have been posting on the wire since the storm, but there are a lot of folks that don't come here often.  If you know of folks that are doing OK (or folks that need a little assistance) maybe post it here.

 

Prayers Up for all affected by this storm.

 

Dogmeat

 

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

 My daughter and SIL have a home in Flat Rock NC.  Haven't heard from them since Friday morning.

 

No Power, no phones, no anything.

[Dogmeat Dad, SASS #48563L]

7 hours ago, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said:

 My daughter and SIL have a home in Flat Rock NC.  Haven't heard from them since Friday morning.

 

No Power, no phones, no anything.

Prayers Up that they are OK.

 

A lot of the relief groups and agencies are bringing in Starlink terminals and generators to the isolated areas, so hopefully she will be able to reach out to you soon.

[Trigger Mike]

I’m in vidalia ga and just now have spotty internet and text and cell service.  Landline still gone and if not for a generator and propane tank that is less than 20 percent left I’d have no power.  Took my boys and I nearly a day to clear half the driveway from fallen trees.  I live on a dirt road and some neighbors cleared a path one way but couldn’t the other way due to size of the tree and power lines in the midst.  We used atv to get around and still struggle to find a path .  Every trail is covered in large trees dropped from the root.  Large oaks fell more than anything along with pecans.  Small pones survived well in comparison.  Will come back 

[Dogmeat Dad, SASS #48563L]

46 minutes ago, Trigger Mike said:

I’m in vidalia ga and just now have spotty internet and text and cell service.  Landline still gone and if not for a generator and propane tank that is less than 20 percent left I’d have no power.  Took my boys and I nearly a day to clear half the driveway from fallen trees.  I live on a dirt road and some neighbors cleared a path one way but couldn’t the other way due to size of the tree and power lines in the midst.  We used atv to get around and still struggle to find a path .  Every trail is covered in large trees dropped from the root.  Large oaks fell more than anything along with pecans.  Small pones survived well in comparison.  Will come back 

 

Glad to hear that you and your family are safe and hope it stays that way!  You guys were not too far from the tornado that touched down in Vidette, GA so I suspect you guys had a heck of a wind & rain event.  Soggy ground, high winds, and large trees can be a dangerous combination.  Be Safe!

 

 

Edited October 2 by Dogmeat Dad, SASS #48563L
'Cause I Don't Spel Two Gud!

[Imis Twohofon,SASS # 46646]

Middle Tennessee, Murfreesboro and Wartrace, including the Wartrace Regulators range had one dead tree fall otherwise no damage, very little rain. It is amazing how the storm had so little effect on areas that it passed. Jersey Bratt was in Panama City Beach at the same time and the storm completely missed there, too. The only effect in Panama City was high waves.

 

Imis

[Trigger Mike]

Lost internet right after the last post.  We are hearing some will not get power until Sunday.  Some subdivisions in vidalia are a wasteland .  Lots of houses with trees down the middle. Thankfully no fatalities in our area that I know of.  
 

lessons I’ve learned are:

 

1). Get an on demand generator with twice the size tank they tell you to get.  Treat like you are buying the right size gun safe and get bigger than needed because you will need it.

 

2). An ATV or side by side is invaluable.  Main roads still have lots of trees on them and my son works for a tractor dealership and drove my side by side to work it also uses less gas than his truck.  
 

3). Have working chain saws on hand and hope your son doesn’t run over the chain saw accidentally while moving cut up logs as they are rationed and if you can find one.  
 

4). Have a backup generator to your main generator as that is what I will resort to shortly as I’m on a long list for gas delivery.  
 

5). Learn all you can about generators and food storage 

 

6) frozen food is great until the power has been out long enough for it to rot and stink up your house like my mom and son found out.

 

top off your cars before storms etc and don’t drive with less than half a tank.  My son was out of gas in his truck by the second day and few stations had gas and the line was a couple of miles down the road if they had some. 
 

8).  be kind to your neighbors long before disaster comes, you may need them.  be kind during a disaster as well . 
 

9). Keep spare gas on hand.  
 

10). Try to have enough on hand to last while everyone else is panicked so you can stay home out of their way until things improve.  
 

get starlink internet otherwise you are in the dark.  Satellite phones are a good idea but don’t do you any good if not activated before the storm 

[Stump Water]

In addition to what Trigger Mike said...

 

Generator:  We have eight 5 gallons gas cans.  No less than four are always full.  With something like this approaching they are all full.  

 

Even so, I realized that if we did need to bug out, I have no practical way of getting that gas into a vehicle.  

 

Stash some cash.  No internet means no credit card transactions.

[Texas Joker]

4 minutes ago, Stump Water said:

Even so, I realized that if we did need to bug out, I have no practical way of getting that gas into a vehicle.  

You've got water hose and a gravity siphon is easy to set up. Can above gas inlet. Start siphon empty can into tank.

 

They even make a self starting transfer hose.

[Rip Snorter]

I have spouts on all the gas cans, but also have a siphon bought from one of the Auto supply stores, just raise the gas can above the gastank and give the bulb on the hose a couple of pumps.  Our main generator is LP powered.  Never had to run it for more than 10 hours, but suspect pulsing use, it could run for quite a while.  Reasonable extra cash is always a good idea.  Bugging out?  Probably not unless it was a bad wildfire.  Any flood would have to have the county underwater.

[Sedalia Dave]

A full chest freezer will keep food frozen with only a couple hours of generator time each day to maintain the temperature.

 

Nothing in the refrigerator is worth the fuel required to keep it cold.

 

Whole house generators are great if the power goes out for a couple days. HOWEVER, they are fuel hogs compared to a small generator. With load sharing a small 20 to 30 amp generator will keep the food in the freezer frozen, run a gas furnace, power a small window AC unit, while simultaneously powering a couple of lamps and recharging a battery bank while consuming less than 5 gallons of fuel per day.

 

A solar generator will provide enough power to run a lamp and power critical devices like CPAP, Oxygen generators,  and home dialysis machines.

 

For emergency communications NOTHING beats HAM radio. A 12 VDC LiFePo battery, small HF rig, antenna tuner and a portable wire antenna will allow you to communicate with other HAMs outside of any disaster area. You don't have to be a rocket scientist or an engineer to get a license and learn how to one either.

[Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474]

IMHO, if you have NG, that's the way to go!

Second choice would be a propane powered unit.

I lost power, in my new home, for six days, then one and two days on other occasions.

Saved everything in both freezers and the frig.

I even ran the AC

I felt bad for the neighbours and helped out with cooking, frig/freezer space.

I hope all you folks are getting through this OK!

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

17 hours ago, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said:

 My daughter and SIL have a home in Flat Rock NC.  Haven't heard from them since Friday morning.

 

No Power, no phones, no anything.

Just got an email.  They're alright, have no electricity except a generator that they run about 3 hours a day to keep stuff from spoiling.  No cell phone because the towers were damaged or destroyed.  Found a line that they can use to send emails.  Power should be on by tomorrow evening but a lot of places won't get theirs back for up to a week more, maybe longer.

 

Prayers continuing for those who are not so well off and are still suffering.

[Blackwater 53393]

Haven’t seen Miz Pete on here since the storm!  Hope they’re okay! Lots of friends in Nawth Klackalacky and South Kalinah that I’m kinda concerned about.

[watab kid]

my prayers have been up for all those in that neck of the woods , hope all here are safe and sound , things can be fixed and replaced but folks are a different story , 

[Eyesa Horg]

Prayers to continue for everyone in that area.

[Dogmeat Dad, SASS #48563L]

I keep checking back here, hoping to see some members from the affected areas having chimed in that they are OK and with updates on their local area, but I understand (from looking at the various YouTube videos) that many of them are still dealing with much bigger issues.

 

Prayers continue for the safety of all in the affected areas!

[Cypress Sun]

41 minutes ago, Dogmeat Dad, SASS #48563L said:

I keep checking back here, hoping to see some members from the affected areas having chimed in that they are OK and with updates on their local area, but I understand (from looking at the various YouTube videos) that many of them are still dealing with much bigger issues.

 

Prayers continue for the safety of all in the affected areas!

 

How did you make out?

 

I know your place in Dunedin is right on the intercoastal which saw 6' - 8' surge. Hopefully you didn't sustain any damage.

[Dogmeat Dad, SASS #48563L]

38 minutes ago, Cypress Sun said:

 

How did you make out?

 

I know your place in Dunedin is right on the intercoastal which saw 6' - 8' surge. Hopefully you didn't sustain any damage.

 

While I don't have first hand knowledge, communications from the association said the entire property was flooded, but I don't know to what extent yet.  Still trying to get in touch with the neighbor that watches our place when we are not there, but have not been able to do so yet.

 

We are on the third floor of a 3-Story building so I don't expect to have had any real damage as the winds weren't that bad, but I know the elevator pits were flooded so I suspect the first floor units took some flood damage.  I suspect we just lost power for a couple days, but we don't keep anything in the fridge when we are gone so that won't be an issue, I just want to make sure the AC came back on so we don't end up with a moldy sweat-box.

 

I was holding off making a trip down as the last thing the area needs at the moment is another body sucking up resources, so I am being patient.  The association has had the Insurance guys and the FEMA guys out already to start assessing the damage, so at least the association is on track with that. 

 

We weren't due back down until the first week of January, but I will probably make a trip down sometime before that, just to make sure things are OK before we show up.  I may also have to meet with the insurance folks as they are assessing the whole property and want to do a unit by unit inspection.  Going to be a mess, and some of the folks down there got totally wiped out, but we fared much, much, better than a lot of people so I will consider us very fortunate.

 

From what I have seen on the YouTube videos, the surge made it up to Bayshore Boulevard.  The shopping center at the intersection of Bayshore/Curlew/Causeway got flooded out, but not wiped out.  Benedict's was back in operation, as was the Cricketeer Pub, but the Sheriffs Thrift Store probably lost everything they had in there due to water damage.

 

I saw on another thread that you came through the storm without too much impact, and we were glad to hear that.  Hoping to hear from some more folks in the northern part of the state, they at least seem to have power back in most areas.  A lot of the Clearwater area is still dark, so hopefully, that gets fixed soon, but I know that the crews are stretched thin, over multiple states, and there is a lot of infrastructure that needs to be rebuilt, and that just takes time.  Let's hope this is the only one that hits this year!

 

 

[Cypress Sun]

1 minute ago, Dogmeat Dad, SASS #48563L said:

 

While I don't have first hand knowledge, communications from the association said the entire property was flooded, but I don't know to what extent yet.  Still trying to get in touch with the neighbor that watches our place when we are not there, but have not been able to do so yet.

 

We are on the third floor of a 3-Story building so I don't expect to have had any real damage as the winds weren't that bad, but I know the elevator pits were flooded so I suspect the first floor units took some flood damage.  I suspect we just lost power for a couple days, but we don't keep anything in the fridge when we are gone so that won't be an issue, I just want to make sure the AC came back on so we don't end up with a moldy sweat-box.

 

I was holding off making a trip down as the last thing the area needs at the moment is another body sucking up resources, so I am being patient.  The association has had the Insurance guys and the FEMA guys out already to start assessing the damage, so at least the association is on track with that. 

 

We weren't due back down until the first week of January, but I will probably make a trip down sometime before that, just to make sure things are OK before we show up.  I may also have to meet with the insurance folks as they are assessing the whole property and want to do a unit by unit inspection.  Going to be a mess, and some of the folks down there got totally wiped out, but we fared much, much, better than a lot of people so I will consider us very fortunate.

 

From what I have seen on the YouTube videos, the surge made it up to Bayshore Boulevard.  The shopping center at the intersection of Bayshore/Curlew/Causeway got flooded out, but not wiped out.  Benedict's was back in operation, as was the Cricketeer Pub, but the Sheriffs Thrift Store probably lost everything they had in there due to water damage.

 

I saw on another thread that you came through the storm without too much impact, and we were glad to hear that.  Hoping to hear from some more folks in the northern part of the state, they at least seem to have power back in most areas.  A lot of the Clearwater area is still dark, so hopefully, that gets fixed soon, but I know that the crews are stretched thin, over multiple states, and there is a lot of infrastructure that needs to be rebuilt, and that just takes time.  Let's hope this is the only one that hits this year!

 

 

 

If you need me to go check on your unit, let me know...I'd be happy to do it. 

 

The surge, in some places, went well past Bayshore. I have no doubt that the elevator pits/equipment were submerged in salt water. I don't remember where the electrical service equipment (main breakers/meters) are located but if they are on the 1st floor, they got it also. If the main service gear went under salt water, it should be replaced. I'm glad you are on the 3rd floor, at least you didn't get flooded and wind damage is doubtful as the winds only got to about 45 - 50 sustained for about an hour and all from the south/southwest.

 

Let me know.