"HURRICANE HELENE CAUGHT US OFF GUARD!"

Firsthand Stories from Western NC

Friends, this substack is a written summary of the video coverage I did a few days ago (above).

I realize people are now preparing for the arrival of Cat 5 MILTON, and I’ll be watching and waiting as well as doing coverage starting this afternoon, Oct 7.

In the meantime, I’ve continued my coverage on Hurricane Helene, and this time, I shared some personal stories from people who reached out to me with their experiences. My heart goes out to everyone affected by this devastation. The toll it takes on people’s lives is like a form of terrorism—deep, lingering fear and anxiety about what might hit next. Coming from California, where fires are a constant threat, I understand that unsettling feeling of being on edge wondering, “Who’s going to be targeted hit next?”

Many of you have written to me about strange coincidences surrounding Hurricane Helene, and while there’s certainly a lot of oddities, I also want to share a few personal accounts from people on the ground. One Healthy American from South Carolina shared her experience while traveling and staying in North Carolina during the hurricane, thinking that heading to the mountains would be a safer bet during the storm.

She even knows people who had evacuated from Tampa, Florida, all the way to Boone, North Carolina thinking it would be safer. That’s the terrifying reality of these events—sometimes even the places you flee to are affected… but nobody imagined the mountains of North Carolina would be so devastated.

"We lost all cell signal in our area from Friday morning until we drove back home on Sunday afternoon. We couldn’t even call 911," she shared. It's hard to imagine the helplessness of being cut off like that, especially since most of us depend on our phones for everything. I've been saying it for years: write down those crucial phone numbers and keep them in your wallet. If your phone dies or you can't use it, at least you’ll have a way to reach someone in an emergency. In this case, there was no cell signal or power, but in other situations, this tip could be a lifesaver.

Power outages hit everywhere in North Carolina, including the mountain town she was visiting. The entire main street of town was flooded, and the only places open were Ingles grocery store and a couple gas stations at higher elevations. "Nobody could use cards because of the power outages so people had to use cash if they wanted to buy groceries or re-fuel," she said… This is another reminder of a prep tip I’ve mentioned over and over: keep cash on hand. When the grid goes down, so do all your digital payment options.

She also saw electric vehicles stranded, with no power anywhere to charge them. She watched a man in a Tesla frantically search for a working charger that simply didn’t exist. Friends, electric vehicles may be great for short trips, but when it comes to an emergency evacuation, they’re not your best option. Always have a backup plan.

One particularly interesting observation she made was about how her hometown, where people typically panic over the smallest bit of weather, was caught completely off guard this time. She wrote, "I live in a city where they shut down over the most tame weather...but nobody really did that with this storm, and it definitely felt like people believed it was only going to impact Florida and Georgia." She explained how this storm caught North and South Carolinians off-guard because, for once, the media didn’t fan the flames of fear like they usually do.

Another story came from a man connected to the Appalachian region. He didn’t email me directly, but someone passed along his words: "I am an Appalachian man in my roots, a boony mountaineer, and I got to tell you, there ain’t never been a storm like that in the area. This is a place where people pride themselves on their resilience, but this storm was different."He explained how all of their "preps," meaning everything they had stored up, are now washed away. He raised an important point about how this area—one of the last bastions of self-sufficiency in America—was wiped out.

From Florida, another longtime resident wrote, "I've seen numerous hurricanes, but nothing like this. The storm surge wasn’t just record-setting; it was nearly biblical." He noted the damage caused by the flooding and said it was unlike anything they’d ever seen. He questioned why Helene, a Category 4 storm, was able to cause such extensive destruction, and shared his suspicion that the narrative of climate change being pushed by the media doesn’t quite add up.

Reading these accounts, it struck me how everything they experienced ties back to basic prepping principles I've shared countless times. The power outages, the cash shortages, the reliance on digital systems... Having backup power, emergency food, fuel, and a communication plan isn’t just "nice to have"; it’s necessary for survival in situations like this.

I understand that not everyone lives in constant fear of the next disaster, but having a basic level of preparedness could mean the difference between life and death. As I’ve said before, get right with God, cherish each day as a gift, and make sure you’re ready for what may come. Even if you're not in the direct path of a storm, it's always better to be prepared than to be left scrambling when it’s too late.

The devastation Hurricane Helene caused is a reminder that no one is truly safe from these events. But with the right mindset and the right preparations, you can face them with a bit more confidence and peace of mind.

I’m still receiving many firsthand accounts, and I want to continue hearing from those on the ground about what's happening in Western North Carolina and Tennessee. The media is spinning their own narratives, with reports of the death toll being in the hundreds (maybe thousands), people being turned away by authorities when trying to deliver supplies, the looming threat of eminent domain, and Starlinks being deployed as power and cellular outages are projected to last for months. If you have witnessed any of this firsthand or have a story to share, I want to hear from you. I can continue to update this substack post with new eyewitness accounts. You can help us get the real truth out there by emailing support@thehealthyamerican.org