Without Power After Helene – Day 9 – Liberty Begins At Home

We wait our turn for power to come back on. But getting cell phone service makes us realize how much we already have. Join me for Day 9 after #HurricaneHelene. #AugustaStrong

I’m writing this series to benefit Golden Harvest Food bank. This organization has boots on the ground in Augusta to help victims recover from Hurricane Helene.

Contribute here today to help these folks get back on their feet.

Cell phone service has returned!

Verizon had lost an estimated 47 of 50 towers in our area. Since Helene struck, we could only intermittently receive text messages. Data was out of the question except for the wee hours of the morning.

I enjoy another rush of novelty as I download email messages more than once per day. I can even submit an insurance claim from my house without the process timing out.

We get all the messages from our kids’ sports, too. My oldest was supposed to be at a meet in Columbia, SC today. Now it’s too late to RSVP.

First world problems.

By the Grace of God

Now that I have enough bandwidth to watch video, I can finally see what my extended family was talking about with floods.

We had more than our share of wind in our area. And an estimated 26 tornadoes touched down. But flooding was not a problem for us.

I watch an investigation from the Smoky Mountains. I have nothing to complain about anymore.

Mudslides and floods swept away entire houses. Thousands are missing.

I think back to the failed tailings holdings at iron mines in rural Brazil. For years, I was certain a catastrophe like that could never happen here.

I say a silent prayer of gratitude that we were spared the worst of the storm. Felled trees are one thing. But my imagination struggles to grasp entire mountain towns with streets covered in muck several feet deep.

I get news from my aunt that line trucks are coming to us from as far away as Nebraska. These crews probably won’t see their families until winter.

Unfinished Business

My wife and I look warily over the large pines in the backyard. At that distance, they could crash into one of the bedrooms. There are also several smaller trees behind our fence on our property that could fall onto the fence.

It’s not something we want hanging over us.

Someone on Facebook mentions a FEMA hotline for emergency tree removal. Volunteers can come out to remove trees from your property, but there’s no guarantee we’ll get service with the high demand.

I consider other families who couldn’t get out of their homes or had trees actually crash through their roofs. What’s in our back yard isn’t something I need to waste this crew’s time with right now.

Waiting Our Turn

We made several anxious trips around the line crews today. The sound of chainsaws still whine in the distance as we hear their progress.

*Intense damage to power poles takes several line trucks to repair each one.* *(credit: Derek Rinaldo)*

The grounding flag they use to mark a safe zone is only two poles away from our house. And another neighborhood barely two hundred feet away from ours got power back yesterday.

Like residents of so many other nearby neighborhoods, we hear of their good fortune through Ring. We’re convinced it’s our turn.

Then night falls. We don’t hear the encouraging chime of our appliances coming back on.

But our house is still here and a host of line crews are still working to help us. I have nothing to complain about.

Interested in helping other victims of Hurricane Helene in Augusta? Many areas are still without power or easy access to food.

I’m sponsoring a fundraiser for Golden Harvest Food Bank. This group offers direct help in my area. Contribute today to get these good people back on their feet.

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