People who live in Hurricane areas?

[LVSteve]

This recent hurricane seems peculiar in that it may have cause more damage and fatalities inland than at the coasts. I have no proof of that beyond what I have seen in the news. I do not imagine folks in the Appalachians are used to worrying about hurricanes.

There is plenty of damage in Florida, but the people had largely bugged out. Whether the people in the Appalachians did not get sufficient warning from their local media or government, or if they had nowhere to bug out to, or if they simply did not heed the warnings given is not known right now. I suspect all three apply. The National Hurricane Center had certainly predicted catastrophic flooding by 1900 Wednesday evening. Trouble is, was anyone in the affected area looking.

 

[Jon651]

As early as the Wednesday evening the NHC used these words in their forecast.

"Over portions of the southeastern U.S. into the southern Appalachians, Helene is expected to produce total rain accumulations of 6 to 12 inches with isolated totals around 18 inches. This rainfall will likely result in catastrophic and potentially life-threatening flash and urban flooding, along with significant river flooding. Landslides are possible in steep terrain across the southern Appalachians."

Source: Hurricane HELENE

And with as much skepticism as we see in whatever the government says these days, is it really surprising that very few listened to these warnings? I'm quite certain that there were far too many folks who "knew better" or thought it wouldn't affect them as badly as it did - I see them every storm here in FL. Besides, just how bad could a hurricane that hit Florida be for the mountains of North Carolina???

The problem with "once in a millennia" storm is that people never think it will happen to them - until it does...

 

[mtgianni]

No place is perfectly safe. I have never seen a tornado nor a hurricane.
Working for a utility I often worked 16-20 hour days while the radio in my truck went on and on about bad weather, temps well below zero, and advising all to stay inside.

It is easy to look back and claim that some should have acted differently. It is the same unfortunately as advising people to buy IBM in 1965,