Rebuilding Broken Towns and Lives

As many of you readers (who follow my offerings) know, I have spent a lot of my workforce time in and amongst the disaster readiness and relief fields. This recent set of storms has not only affected our state but also our country. They seem to have been a lot harder to handle this time around.

From the scenes on TV of homes being carried down swiftly charging river flows to the interviews of the mobile home park retirees in Bradenton Beach, where (first) FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) decided to condemn most of the units. It would be impossible for people to fix their homes for less than 50 percent of the individual units’ cost. Then the residents found out that the WHOLE VILLAGE would be condemned!

Just these two “social disasters” alone are enough for most citizens to get a burning feeling of sadness (and some disbelief and rage) at what is being played out. And, as I put words together for this piece, we have another storm (Rafael) to be watching. Now this storm probably will not affect most of the people that Hurricanes Helene and Milton did, but as I can tell you (from the experience of running fuel oils for so many years, this scenario will most likely play out.

When a large storm forms and comes up into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, The tugboats that push large barges loaded with millions of gallons of volatile cargo will “stand fast” in the Baytown, Texas terminals until the threat passes by (or “fizzles out”). It was not that long ago, that many of us faced problems dealing with long gas lines and stations with empty tanks.

The massive amounts of sand that came in on a very large area of Florida coastline has been partially dealt with. Most roads are usable (although that may not include traversing it in the family sedan).
Up in the areas of “W.N.C.” (Western North Carolina) and many other points about a five-state compilation, there are far tougher issues to face. First, the roads running alongside many of the valley rivers were wiped away by the sheer amount of water that came through the area. Now, some people in those affected areas are saying (and with good reasons) that the government emergency help (namely, “F.E.M.A.”) has been too slow and is being bogged down by antiquated business methods.
There is a case of a roadway section that was destroyed. The locals were told that it would take months to rebuild, and one of the winning contract bidders’ machinery convoy was slowly coming in ALL THE WAY FROM CALIFORNIA! That does not sound like the correct way to handle this problem! And that roadway that was said to need months to make passable was MADE PASSABLE by a few guys from a volunteered roadway and grading company WITHIN ONE WEEK!

(Jake of “Precision Grading” made that happen)! One of the other hurdles is the size of the logistical “quick and long term” planning. There have been a great many people who have come forward and given their time and funds to help out the mountain communities. This was truly a logistics nightmare! (Logistics, being the planning and producing of large quantities of people, their equipment, lodging, food supply, and even waste services.) A helpful addition to these big problems has been the personal video “streamers,” doing on-site – present-time live videos for those interested parties to view (and then plan their moves accordingly).

Getting back to the volunteer base, a couple that owns over 11 acres in Ellenburg, North Carolina, opened their property up to allow camps of volunteer workers to base on their ranch. Within a week, it was accommodating over a dozen groups of workers from all over the United States. Soon after that, the group known as the C.N.R. (Cajun Navy Relief) worked a deal with the Krells, and soon helicopters and all types of off-road craft were seen on site.

Another impactful group that took on the “logistical help” was the “Volunteer Relief Group” (from Tennessee). A veteran named Zeb Proctor was leading that crew. Mr. John Ward of the “Appalachian Channel” has a large volume of time and videos dedicated to the volunteer crews working the Asheville area from that base. On another note, my wife and I plan to bring supplies to that area, as we will be making the trip north on the weekend days from Nov. 15 through Nov. 18.

A third tragedy has also come from the storms and their destruction. This time of the year (as the fall leaves are at their most beautiful time), tourism has been severely derailed due to the storms. This is when these communities make as much as 75 percent of their yearly income to get them through the rest of the year. The mayors and town leaders want the word to get out that NOT ALL of western North Carolina is in disrepair! The surrounding communities are still able to accommodate many of your travel wishes, and at this time, a trip up there would be a good “shot in the arm” for a hurting region of our beautiful country. (This is the OTHER REASON that we are making that run north! I do want to ask all of you to keep ALL OF THESE AFFECTED PLACES IN YOUR PRAYERS! May God bless this nation once again! Take care, till next week’s story time!