Sunday, November 3, 2024
Friday, November 1, 2024
Mr and Mrs B -Heroes
Thursday, October 31, 2024
Extraordinary
Watching more videos coming out of North Carolina and have to say there are some extraordinary stories covering a raft of circumstances following Helene.
It is easy to relate to the people and what they are going through but in comparison to Gabrielle there are instances of far greater destruction.
The town of Chimney Rock is completely devastated ,Spruce Pine is destroyed and towns like Swannanoa and Ashville just a total and utter mess.
The death toll continues to rise and is nearing 200.One family lost 11 members.
It is heartbreaking .
The response from people has been the same as here in Hawkes Bay where everyone is helping out in any way possible and of course the Churches have stepped in bigtime .
I have to note the Cabins for Christ group who within 48 hours had developed plans for cabins to assist with accommodation and with donations and volunteer help had produced 20 cabins in a few days and aim to build 75 cabins for people of Buncome County schools in the next two weeks.
That is absolutely amazing.
Buncombe is another area totally devastated by the flood.
Drone footage of the valleys shows the extent of damage and the huge number of trees that came down in the storm.
Those lovely river valleys have felt the wrath of mother nature and the inhabitants lives have been shattered.
Thinking of all those affected at this time.
Wednesday, October 23, 2024
Gabrielle vs Helene
I have spent some time watching videos coming out of North Carolina following the devastating Cyclone Helene.
Pretty raw watching a situation one has experienced and certainly brings back many emotions and responses when you see coverage that is parallel to that here in HB.
It is heartening to see how the community reacted in the same way and neighbour helped neighbour and the immediate response was from those closest .
The stories coming out are reminiscent of Hawkes Bay tales and the relating of many close escapes and miraculous rescues are remarkably the same.
Unfortunately it looks like there are many more fatalities in NC and the surrounding areas compared to here but then the population would have been far greater and the proximity to the rivers was a major factor.
Couldn't help but get upset at the heart wrenching loss of 9 month old twins by a mother of seven. Her youngest washed away in the attempt to escape the water.
I was interested in some who said how fast it happened .I think this is related to different scenarios during a flood where pressure points are reached and dams burst or river banks breach thus releasing large volumes of water that surge through vulnerable sections of the terrain.
I remember watching the water at my place flowing for a long time at a particular level .All of a sudden it started rising quickly and reached the house and never stopped rising.
I now know this was related to major breaches of the stopbank upstream and also the collapse of the Puketapu Bridge.
It is interesting that many residents in NC and surrounds are talking rebuilding although the Mayor of one town said it will not be rebuilt.
People become very attached to their homes and land and it is natural that they want to stay.
We all can learn from these events and from history and adapt to new circumstances .The houses near some of the rivers were very close and even though it was known there had been flooding in the past this event was humungous and rivers rose up to capture homes that would have been out of reach in historic flood paths.
A particularly interesting video I watched was by The GeoModels .This showed the geography of the mountains at the centre of the downpour and how the rivers had to remove a huge amount of water from the Helene event and down it went through the valleys and on through settlements smashing anything in its path.
An observation at this point is the demeanor of many involved in the USA situation . people I have watched have been helpful , concerned and constructive whereas here we had bodies that were absent , cagey, unhelpful and certainly unwilling to listen.
Enough for now.
Saturday, October 12, 2024
Nonsense
Dramatic coverage in the local newspaper.
"An increasing risk of coastal hazards due to climate change and cyclone Gabrielle threatened the Charitys Clive living premises"
Let's analyse this comment.
Increasing risk. There is no increasing risk of coastal hazards. The coast is one of those marvelous natural features that is ever changing, moving , eroding ,accreting encroaching.
It has done forever and will continue to do so.
Due to climate change. The climate has always changed. Always will. But this natural occurrence is not 'increasing' the risk of coastal hazards. There have always been coastal hazards and they come and go .May be even the weather adds to the coming and going.
Due to Cyclone Gabrielle. Yes the weather. From time to time NZ is subject to weather events such as cyclones and they vary in strength.
Cyclone Gabrielle may have been a wake up call for the Charity. I think they were extremely lucky that the adjacent river did not breach its stopbanks this time.
My memory recalls a rain event where the area where Hohepa is housed was subject to flooding and an orchard further along the road was under water. Do we learn from history ?
I do note that further comment states that the " re-location project started in 2018 driven by Clives' increasingly unstable coastal environment."
Should this not be interpreted as the re-location was driven by the realisation that the complex was built in a flood prone area and it was wise to move operations? I wonder who made the original decision to build on the site and what advice did they receive about the suitability of housing vulnerable people in such a risk prone site.
Nature carries on .
Understanding nature is being abused by the environmentally vacant.
Saturday, October 5, 2024
North Carolina
Saturday, September 28, 2024
On a High
Still on a high after last weekend. Time flies but kept reflecting on the progress made by the team and the huge difference it makes to where I am at.
Ticked off some more boxes during the week as I was able to fix up some more bits and pieces and even took apart the grease gun which was still silty and not working. Little tasks like that help the future attack on jobs that ease the burden and result in a more normal existence.
There are still some pieces to put together and one is carpet to replace the silt soaked mess that had to be ripped up and thrown in the skip. At least with a concrete floor it has been easy to clean up in preparation for an new dimension in the bedrooms.
What a dilemma. What colour do I choose? Seems trivial after the upheaval. Not to demean the excitement of being able to replace something I thought would take years of saving.
There are other surprises to come but I am at a point where I can function pretty well and look forward to summer and maybe some returns at last.
One thing that disrupts is the political interference with time.
Why do politicians think they can dictate what the time is? The short ,only one hour, spring forward dictate has a debilitating effect on many human beings. Well those of us that are in tune with nature and the sun and the moon. Our biorythms are disrupted as we are forced to endure longer working days and more daylight to fade the curtains. Well not quite.
Many , especially politicians , do not understand nature. They are environmentally vacant and I will never forgive those (and I know who they are ) said we the people would have more time for BBQ's if daylight saving was extended.
What extraordinary reasoning.
It will take a week to adapt to the forced time change and then hours worked will increase ,It's just the way it is.
Oh well it's a lovely fine day.Time to enjoy.