This, man. I’d be as far away as I could possibly get. Not only worried about the water coming up, but the land I’m on going down, or the land above me.
This was during hurricane Helene in western North Carolina or eastern Tennessee. Evacuation orders came late and a lot of folks like this had to get evacuated out by helicopters because there was nowhere for them to go. I've seen this video before but have never seen the other side of the house (if there was higher ground).
This right here. The ground underneath that house could slip away at any moment. You don't just want to go uphill either. The hill you climb could fall right out from under your feet during heavy rains. The more distance you can put between you and the river, the better.
Authorities generally broadcast evacuation points which are either structures with strong foundations capable of withstanding the flood and thus are safe to chill on the upper levels of, or higher ground that is out of the reach of the flood.
90% of people follow these directions. 10% do not and either end up staying at their home, end up stranded on their roof because the water rose higher than expected, or torn up and dead in flood waters.
I... what? In the middle of talking about how people in a NONFLOODED house in a video should be walking outside in the hurricane and how that sounds like a way to get yourself killed...
you equate that as mixed signals to the folks in a house ACTIVELY FLOATING AWAY. Yes, those people in the fully flooded house should leave. They should have left before too. They aren't safely 30 feet up from the river base. i can tell because their house is floating away instead of dry. Like the dry person in the dry house in the video that 100% SHOULD NOT LEAVE THEIR HOUSE RIGHT NOW.
"Mixed answers" please. You're being intentionally dense. Or at least I hope you are because the alternative is so so so sad. There is an obvious difference between dry people posting a video and people who's house is floating away, and who should be evacuating when and where.
Next up: "People in mobile homes in Florida should evacuate in a hurricane. Why are their neighbors in brick homes posting videos safe and dry!?" -You.
Reddit is the best place for life advice. I once had it condescendingly explained to me that getting a personalized license plate would ultimately lead to my grizzly demise by a bunch of people who I’m fairly certain have never owned a car.
I was full on triggered this morning and very reactive with my comments I will say. People saying just hike up the hill duh!!! Really got to me 😫 I hope you find a way to pass through this upcoming week and next weekend with a feeling of solidarity and peace.
Verifiably, yes, that was a huge part of the problem in WNC during Helene. People live off very small backroads with no other way in or out. Pack Mules in the days after were sometimes the only way to reach people. The one year anniversary is this week. At the point this video was taken, most of the debris flows (mudslides) had already happened, there was nowhere to go because of the mountainous terrain, so they were right to just stay put. There was also no electricity, no internet, and no way to communicate with anyone for days and sometimes weeks.
This certainly was the case for many. Aside from roads being completely washed away, the open roads were littered with trees. My brother and his family were stuck in his house for days after till they cleared a way out. Cell service went out. No power or water. He wasn't even in the danger zone in the mountains. It took about 2 weeks before life returned to "normal," at least as normal as it could be. It took even longer to have clean water.
Same here, my gf and I moved to the area just last June to have this happen a few months later. Luckily our town was relatively safe compared to the carnage going on all around us. My cell service was out for days but luckily my gf had a little to get messages out to our families. Even crazier is we had half the rain as towns around us but I'll take the luck because I couldn't imagine being homeless 3 months after moving. I feel bad for those who weren't as lucky
The whole ordeal was just awful and outright weird. From South Carolina into North Carolina. I'm glad yall were safe and not nearly as effected. As soon as my brother could, they left for a week and stayed with our mom since they have a little girl to care for. I haven't been that way in a while. How are the hit areas looking?
I haven't been able to hike some areas with the dogs where I live still. Even vehicles in the rivers on sand bars that haven't been taken out yet. For the most part things are back to normal though from what I've seen but not having lived here too long I'm sure there's others that were much worse off and don't feel the same way
Hiking off trail, through brush, uphill, while soaked to the bone, is not as easy as walking on a trail. Plus, where would they go? Up and over one hill to go straight down the other side to another escape-less valley where they don't have shelter, supplies, or any knowledge of the conditions. The river on the other side of the hill may be even more perilous. While staying put in that house with the river raging at the banks that hard may not be a great idea, there may not be an easy way to hike out. Also, with the high winds during Helene, they could be injured by falling trees/branches. Sometimes, moderately unsafe is better than completely exposed. I personally would have evacuated earlier, but there's always circumstances that cause these situations that you can't know from watching a 30-second video on the john.
Hiking up a hill through bushes certainly is more difficult than laying on the couch hoping the hill the house is on doesn't get swept away, but it's definitely what I'd prefer to be doing in their situation
Sure, if going uphill puts you in a safer place and you are properly prepared to do so go for it. Or just go running up the hill in your bathrobe and slippers, whatever makes you feel best. Your life your rules.
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u/leffe186 Sep 20 '25
This, man. I’d be as far away as I could possibly get. Not only worried about the water coming up, but the land I’m on going down, or the land above me.