Helene was Western North Carolina‘s Katrina—especially for the counties surrounding Asheville: Buncombe, Mitchell, Henderson, McDowell, Ruther

When Radio Delivers – Doc Searls Weblog

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2024-09-30 23:00:05

Helene was Western North Carolina‘s Katrina—especially for the counties surrounding Asheville: Buncombe, Mitchell, Henderson, McDowell, Rutherford, Haywood, Yancey, Burke, and some adjacent ones in North Carolina and Tennessee. As with Katrina, the issue wasn’t wind. It was flooding, especially along creeks and rivers. Most notably destructive was the French Broad River, which runs through Asheville. Hundreds of people are among the missing. Countless roads, including interstate and other major highways, are out. Communities have been washed away.

For following what’s happening there, I highly recommend listening to Blue Ridge Public Radio (WCQS/88.1) and any of the local iHeart stations (listed the image above). All of them are carrying the same continuous live coverage, which is excellent. (I’m listening right now to the WWNC/570 stream.)

Of course, there’s lots of information on social media (e.g. BlueSky, Xitter, Threads), but if you want live coverage, radio still does the job. Yes, you need special non-phone equipment to get it when the cell system doesn’t work, but a lot of us still have those things. Enjoy the medium while we still have it.