Day 2 - Swannanoa

All I can say to start is that I now have a major appreciation for the absolute mercilessness of flowing water.

I volunteered here in Swannanoa today, and I drove around after. There are photos below, but they only really show the TYPE of damage, not the SCOPE of it. Street after street. And six weeks out, there are many areas that have remained untouched. Building debris and garbage are everywhere. Some is up in trees where the water crested, including portions of trailers that were swept away. Wires are still down across roads. Parking lots are buckled with big chunks of asphalt on end. And like the rest of Buncombe County, there is no potable water.

The main highway through town runs right beside the Swannanoa river to its south. The older section of town is a couple of blocks away to the south of that. Everything that did not have a high foundation, like the biggest church in town got swamped. Buildings closest to the river were destroyed or entirely obliterated.

The north side of the river has many low lying areas. Those areas were filled with trailers and small wood houses. I said “were” because some of those areas are now empty. They were filled with trailers that were completely swept away. Some of the small houses remain. All were swamped and several are now falling in. This area saw loss of life when the water came up. The people who lived here struggle economically, and are largely Hispanic. A couple of streets farther north, the houses are older and a big bigger. They also got swamped. Most have already been gutted and the debris piled up along the street. They were clearing a pile in one yard today when I drove by.

The debris that’s being collected is currently being taken to a large lot on the edge of town and being dumped into one large pile. There’s a pic of the end of that pile in a pic below. It looks to me to be about 40’ high, and it’s a 1/4 mile long. According to the EPA, which is on scene, there’s quite a bit of toxic material in the pile. People told me today that it will be there for at least 4 months. Keep in mind that it’s only a fraction of what needs to be collected.

The EPA has also cautioned people to be careful of the mud and sediment deposited by the river. This is true all over the region. They are currently taking samples. The river brought a lot of toxic debris and chemicals downstream. People who have cleaned/gutted their homes were advised to wear full PPE. Dogs have gotten ill by rolling in the mud and licking it off.

So there’s a ton of work there to do. There is a lot of purposeful effort occurring all around town. But there’s more than they can do alone.

More about that tomorrow.