Living in South Carolina, we have experienced some crazy weather. Fortunately, we're far enough from the coast that we don't usually get the worst of it. Huricane Helene was stronger than most, hitting South Carolina on September 26. Surprisingly, it did devastating damage in North Carolina, which is never hit by these hurricanes.
Wind in the backyard.
Our neighbor's tree broke and took out power and internet lines.
The local elementary school had trees and powerlines down. Look at the broken pole in the back right.
Another neighbor lost a big chunk of their roof.
Downed trees and power lines in the neighborhood.
Tree that took out a garage a couple blocks away.
In another part of town this tree took out the middle of a home.
Closed street and downed tree in our neighborhood.
We were without power for 5 1/2 days! Fortunately, we had a hurricane lamp and a good generator. We were able to power a fridge, a fan, and charge all of our devices. Our stove is gas so we were able to cook.
Spike needed his heat lamp so we took him to the Brusins where they still had power.
Calee loves reptiles so she was happy to watch him.
We were lucky that the weather was mild, but the kids still chose to sleep in the living room with the fan.
We went to our friends' the Bailey's to do laundry and watch BYU football. They were out of town.
The kids were very excited when we finally got power back.
Some images to give perspective on the height of water in the rivers.
Like North Carolina, Augusta was heavily hit by the storms. On October 12, Jalen and David went to help with relief work, clearing away trees. It was a great experience for them to share together.
While we are obviously very dependent on electricity, I was pleased that we were able to go 5 1/2 days without it and be fine. We were prepared for the emergency. It was also a wake up call about how we can better prepare for the future.
