it's a mess down here, but it's good to see all the support. we've got 80 high line crew trucks from TVA parked where i work. they came in today and will get started on repairing some big transmission lines tomorrow.

9/17/2018 7:56:57 PM

So I dont qualify for FEMA assistance because I have insurance. Waiting to hear from the insurance adjuster.
ECU gave me a university excused absense until I can get everything back under control. The College of Education also has a fund that will give supplemental assistance to those in need.
Can't get in touch with the realtor that handles the property that I rent.

Silver lining...I did find out that since we live in a disaster area, we could qualify for certain mortgages that we wouldn't otherwise qualify. A realtor friend of mine is going to hook me up with someone to see what we can do.



[Edited on September 17, 2018 at 9:09 PM. Reason : ]

9/17/2018 9:05:52 PM

Those pics of I40 are insane.

9/17/2018 9:09:31 PM

Quote :

" Central NC (Randolph County) up 25 feet "

My guess is that it would go higher but:

"Value affected by equipment malfunction."
and
"Operational limit."

We used to camp by the Deep River in Ramseur.


[Edited on September 17, 2018 at 9:16 PM. Reason : --]

9/17/2018 9:15:31 PM

^^ Yeah, the pictures are really blowing my mind. Is it fair to say this is a disaster on the same scale as Katrina? The news media outside of NC doesn't seem to be treating it like one.

9/17/2018 10:02:28 PM

I don't think so. Katrina flooded an entire major metropolitan area. SE NC has had mostly localized flashflooding or river flooding in flood plains that flooded 2 years ago.

I cam go into wilmington and buy gas, groceries, ice, whatever if I'm willing to stand in line. New Orleans might as well have been nuked.

[Edited on September 17, 2018 at 10:26 PM. Reason : Db]

9/17/2018 10:24:53 PM

The washed out roads really suck. There are a lot of folks who are essentially stuck on islands because every road out of the area is washed out. Talked to a line crew from Asheville today who had to get from Raleigh to Wilmington via Mount Olive, Beulaville, and Jacksonville.

9/17/2018 10:30:26 PM

Thought my generator had died this evening. Turns out it was just low on oil. I guess it's burning a little oil after 22 years. My dad bought it in the aftermath of Fran.

9/17/2018 10:35:18 PM

^^^^Nobody really saw Katrina coming and it hit fast and hard- especially the people who were there. NC/SC's response have been about 1 million times better. Clearly people paid attention to what happened to Houston with Harvey. It's definitely not over, but the situation could have been so much more devastating, it's kind of scary.

[Edited on September 17, 2018 at 10:46 PM. Reason : .]

9/17/2018 10:46:04 PM

Quote :

"Nobody really saw Katrina coming"

what does this mean

9/17/2018 10:48:17 PM

Donald Trump doesnt care about Beach People.

9/17/2018 11:02:41 PM

^^ hurricanes are made of wind and wind is invisible

9/17/2018 11:47:00 PM

It's pretty clear that since so few people got out of the way, the government failed it's people

9/18/2018 1:00:57 AM

Update on the hog-waste lagoon situation...at least two have breached so far.

I figured we should just pass a federal law to ban manure lagoons across all states completely. But while reading about the possibility, I got confused, disheartened, and then bored.


"Bills Allowed Idled Hog Farms to Return Under Old Environmental Standards"
https://www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2015/05/22/bills-allow-idled-hog-farms-to-return-under-old-environmental-standards/

"The World Eats Cheap Bacon at the Expense of North Carolina’s Rural Poor"
https://qz.com/433750/the-world-eats-cheap-bacon-at-the-expense-of-north-carolinas-rural-poor/

"Behind Hurricane Florence's Poop Lagoon Crisis, a Nation of Pork Lovers"
https://newrepublic.com/article/151242/behind-hurricane-florences-poop-lagoon-crisis-nation-pork-lovers

"North Carolina's Hog Waste Problem Has a Long History. Why Wasn't It Solved In Time for Hurricane Florence?"
https://psmag.com/environment/why-wasnt-north-carolinas-hog-waste-problem-solved-before-hurricane-florence


The pork industry is gonna keep getting to do whatever it wants, and we just gotta keep suing them. Also, we should maybe not put so much bacon on everything.




[Edited on September 18, 2018 at 3:06 AM. Reason : I'm not opposed to politicizing this Florence thing as much as possible.]

9/18/2018 2:55:47 AM

Cant you start another thread for that vegan agenda.

I don't really care, i'm just here for flood pictures. At a minimum, pics or gtfo

9/18/2018 7:29:22 AM

hog farm lagoons are a major ecological issue, they don't go away because you like bacon


coal ash ponds are also flooding

9/18/2018 7:39:16 AM

Rivers will be cresting today in the coastal plain, hopefully that will be the worst of it and then recovery can really start.

9/18/2018 7:52:03 AM

Before and After Florence: See the Impact of the Storm https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/100000006107500/florence-damage-north-carolina.html

9/18/2018 9:33:13 AM

Got back to the house yesterday. Shingles missing in three places, one with plywood exposed. Water damage to the ceiling and floor in the kitchen under that area. Water staining on the ceiling under the other two areas. No big trees down. I staked the kids playset and that kept it from flying away. It's lifted up about 4 inches on one side. Long lines at gas stations. Can't get any roofers to call back. Power at the house though.

9/18/2018 9:59:21 AM

^^^^^I'm not a vegan.

It just seems like we should do something other than let China-owned Smithfield Foods continue to exploit us and our land. I mean, we can't be that desperate for farm contracts and slaughterhouse jobs that barely support our families.

And, surely, the United States can innovate to both protect our environment and remain the globe's pork powerhouse.

I dunno...I'm unclear why we gotta be the bitch, so everybody else can binge on bargain bacon.

9/18/2018 10:41:21 AM

LOL, people in here trying to argue that numerous breached hog lagoons aren't a big deal

9/18/2018 10:51:18 AM

I remember after Fran the hog waste floods were a HUGE deal. can't remember if any of the hurricanes in more recent history have exposed the same risk. anybody know?

9/18/2018 11:09:15 AM

mathew flooded some lagoons, and animal carcasses were also an issue (thousands of dead livestock)


coal ash and industrial waste pits along coastal and inland rivers are a big problem too



[Edited on September 18, 2018 at 11:25 AM. Reason : .]

9/18/2018 11:24:03 AM

Matthew dumped a lot of pig manure (and carcasses)

This led-up to Fran: http://www.pulitzer.org/winners/news-observer-raleigh-nc

[Edited on September 18, 2018 at 11:35 AM. Reason : ^what he said]

9/18/2018 11:34:41 AM

a little poo tsunami every now and then is good for the immune system

9/18/2018 11:47:23 AM

Poonami?

9/18/2018 11:48:01 AM

Kudos to Donald Trump on a fantastic job with his response to this devastation. I expect he'll address the hog lagoon problem very soon and have a solution for that as well to keep NC residents safe. Stay tuned.

9/18/2018 12:04:50 PM

he'll solve the hog lagoon problem by giving hog lagoons a position in his administration

9/18/2018 12:24:57 PM

The Smithfield CEO will be appointed as the Director of CAFO Compliance

9/18/2018 12:40:53 PM

[Edited on September 18, 2018 at 1:18 PM. Reason : cape fear river]

9/18/2018 1:17:48 PM

dam.

9/18/2018 1:55:03 PM

Hog farms pale in comparison to the amount of municipal wastewater overflow and flooded septic systems that are contributing pathogens, nutrients, and sludge to this disaster.

The ag industry is an easy target, but there are many precautions and steps that go into prepping these farms for hurricanes. By far the industry takes it seriously - but of course there will be a few instances of overflow that will attract all the attention and disdain of the general public.

9/18/2018 6:00:48 PM

You're the second or third person who has tried to deflect scrutiny by mentioning other problems.

What's the deal? Why are y'all so protective and defensive of what should be outdated hog farming practices in North Carolina?

(I really wanna know. Like, if we were to ban manure lagoons in the state, would we legit lose it all and become West Virginia with a bunch of zombie meth/heroin junkies clamoring for their precious hog jobs...?)




[Edited on September 18, 2018 at 6:09 PM. Reason : ?]

9/18/2018 6:05:24 PM

I think we should lay off the hog farmers, because bacon.

Instead, it's high time everyone starts pointing fingers at the greedy developers and HB 819:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/12/us/north-carolina-coast-hurricane.html

9/18/2018 6:10:09 PM

Why though?

What's the dirty secret? Are the people out there so apparently worthless that it's okay to make them wallow in shit?

[Edited on September 18, 2018 at 6:23 PM. Reason : Wake County, too!]

9/18/2018 6:22:45 PM

Probably for the same reason so many people are ignoring the disastrous red tides in FL right now, pretending it's not a big deal, when it is.

You start fucking with the wallets of the hog fecal lagoon curators, and then next thing you know, you'll be called a liar, and a thief like a certain someone you know who.

9/18/2018 6:29:10 PM

No particular love for hog farmers, but eastern NC is driven by the agricultural industry.

You can try to work with it, and realize it can continue to be a viable part of the NC economy, or you can try to drive it out and hope that some other industry will move in and replace the jobs. I'm not sure what that would be right now in that part of the state, with no real incentives for industry, capable workforce, or jobs given the isolation.

And yes, I do compare it to other issues of similar nature. No matter what happens, someone isn't going to like it. If you want that area to all be subdivisions, then you're going to have stormwater/wastewater/drinking water issues. If you want it to be forest land, then someone is going to complain every time it's logged. It's not like the US Park Service is going to swoop in and make it a national park.

There already is a moratorium in place on new hog lagoons and there will not be any expansion of the industry in NC for various reasons. It's already shrinking and confined animal operations likely have about 30 years left in NC. The Midwest and overseas have become the new growth center for these industries.

The main thing I care about is supporting family run businesses and having a high quality, reliable food supply for NC and the US/world.

9/18/2018 6:46:28 PM

It's a good thing Silicon Valley has already been working on bio-engineered meat for a while, and pretty soon CAFOs as we know them won't exist anymore, except in third world countries that are too poor to afford the infrastructure needed to make the switch. Well, it's a good thing for ME and my insatiable demand for cheap pork products. Sorry about the rest of you

Also, pretty soon we will all be slaves to Chinese and Indian robots, so it will all even out in the end.

9/18/2018 6:52:50 PM

Quote :

"Probably for the same reason so many people are ignoring the disastrous red tides in FL right now, pretending it's not a big deal, when it is."

a) it’s a natural phenomenon that has nothing to do with hog farms and flooding in NC

and

b) who is pretending that it isn’t a big deal? a state of emergency has been declared

[Edited on September 18, 2018 at 7:07 PM. Reason : .]

9/18/2018 6:54:25 PM

FYI, NC has had a program to buyout hog lagoons in the floodplain since the mid-90s. It’s been pretty successful and is actually popular among farmers. Of course that does little when it rains 30” in 24 hours and the floodplain starts expanding pretty damn rapidly. New lagoons also have stricter requirements on siting and design in their permits than the older ones in general. So we are doing way better at keeping lagoons from flooding, but you can’t design for a storm like Florence.

There are technologies available beyond lagoons (digesters, biogas, etc), but profit margins are ridiculously thin and many suggest N.C. farms wouldn’t be able to compete if they were required to use them. They’re a bit unproven, but lots of folks hope harvesting methane from the waste could get lucrative and we’ll have better control over waste streams.

So why doesn’t NC just give big pork the boot? It’s big money. Like 4-8% of NC’s GDP, and mostly located in areas that need some GDP. Not to mention the way our culture romanticizes agriculture (and therefore subsidizes the hell out of it and exempts it from a ton of environmental regulation)



[Edited on September 18, 2018 at 6:55 PM. Reason : .]

9/18/2018 6:54:25 PM

^^

A) it's a 'natural' phenomenon that's made worse by pollution and climate change
B) it took FOREVER for plenty of people to even acknowledge it was even a problem in FL. It's been going on for a while, like since last November...

https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/8/30/17795892/red-tide-2018-florida-gulf-sarasota-sanibel-okeechobee

The freaking governor just got booed out a rally

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/09/18/red-tide-rick-has-got-go-protesters-run-florida-governor-out-campaign-rally/?utm_term=.eaf214ce7cfd

I know you're trolling, but in times of crisis like these, please do better. People depends on laughs, not eye rolls from your inability to read and think critically

[Edited on September 18, 2018 at 7:11 PM. Reason : .]

9/18/2018 7:10:17 PM

Quote :

"It's a good thing Silicon Valley has already been working on bio-engineered meat for a while, and pretty soon CAFOs as we know them won't exist anymore, except in third world countries that are too poor to afford the infrastructure needed to make the switch. Well, it's a good thing for ME and my insatiable demand for cheap pork products. Sorry about the rest of you "

Pretty sure bio-engineered meat won't be a commercially viable product in my lifetime.

9/18/2018 7:18:08 PM

^^ who is pretending that it isn’t a big deal?

9/18/2018 7:31:09 PM

Florida's algae problems are not natural

9/18/2018 7:31:36 PM

People who don't think climate change is real?

9/18/2018 7:33:06 PM

Quote :

"The red tide is a normal, seasonal occurrence in southwest Florida. But this year’s red tide has persisted since last November — 10 months — making it the worst bloom since 2006 (when the tide lasted 17 months)."

from the Vox article

Quote :

"Although red tide is a natural phenomenon, this bloom is particularly extreme and damaging, and likely fueled by climate change, says Richard Pierce, senior scientist and program manager for ecotoxicology at the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Fla."

https://www.npr.org/2018/08/23/641279819/scientists-battle-red-tide-that-turned-florida-coast-into-wildlife-killing-field

like other natural phenomenons, climate change is making this one worse

9/18/2018 7:38:24 PM

They have toxic green algae that is entirely a man made problem

[Edited on September 18, 2018 at 7:42 PM. Reason : .]

9/18/2018 7:41:45 PM

^

9/18/2018 7:45:36 PM

Algae blooms need nutrients. Excess nutrients make it to water via man (fertilizer, septic tanks, treatment plants, animal operations, pavement.....)

9/19/2018 11:21:24 AM

30 inches of rain and someone's crying about HB 819. Yeah, that extra 20 mm of sea level rise over the last decade was the tipping point here. Made all the difference.

9/19/2018 2:19:26 PM