So many people are still missing in North Carolina and Tennessee

[Pink Partridge]

Many of the official searches have been called off, leaving family members to depend on volunteers to help them.

I don't want to list specific GoFundMe pages, but they are very easy to find if you want to help the family members find the bodies of their loved ones. Some people are even renting/looking for heavy duty excavators to navigate the piles of debris.

Even with donating, I feel so helpless. I will say once again, volunteers are amazing!

It is going to be a long road to recovery for many people.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Oh no that is so sad, I didn't realize so many were still lost. Wouldn't it be best for the families to all pool together since there is no telling where people could have been pulled with the moving water? I would think anyone found would be a win and ray of hope for all

 

[CdnCarrie]

That is really sad.

 

[Pink Partridge]

Oh no that is so sad, I didn't realize so many were still lost. Wouldn't it be best for the families to all pool together since there is no telling where people could have been pulled with the moving water? I would think anyone found would be a win and ray of hope for all

Yes! That crossed my mind. But they are many miles apart.

 

[DCLMP]

Wow that’s awful. I heard caskets were unearthed too. I think not having closure has to be the worst thing in the world.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Sadly, it may be possible that many are found as fallen trees and buildings are cleared, I imagine some people maybe tried to find refuge in buildings and may have gotten stuck.

 

[luvthatduke]

I believe you are correct, #LuvOrlando.

Very sad story, one of hundreds:
https://nypost.com/2024/10/18/us-ne...rth-carolina-only-to-drown-in-helenes-floods/

"Authorities have located the bodies of two of the missing family members, found together,
holding each other, according to the family.
They were discovered more than 9 miles from where their home used to be," said a family member.

 

[cvjw]

No one would know this because it doesn’t seem to be getting any press. Unlike other hurricanes in the past when hundreds were killed.

 

[Pink Partridge]

No one would know this because it doesn’t seem to be getting any press. Unlike other hurricanes in the past when hundreds were killed.

Very true.

There is a spread sheet that is updated every morning at 7am of the missing, the deceased and (thankfully) the found. I am trying to find it. I lost the link. It is shocking to view this list. I hope to find it soon to share with you all.

 

[LilyWDW]

Sadly, bodies are going to be found for quite a while still. There is so much devastation and some areas are still so remote in that region that it is just not feasible to find them all right away. It stinks and my heart breaks for them. People are also going to be found far from home which may delay in identification. Think of this more like a 9/11 situation then a typical hurricane.

 

[Southernmiss]

There are still 3 unknown women from Hurricane Camille in 1969 buried in our local cemetery.

This lady was just identified this year after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tonett...tim-identified-decades-later-dna-mississippi/

 

[Southernmiss]

No one would know this because it doesn’t seem to be getting any press. Unlike other hurricanes in the past when hundreds were killed.

What are we to do? There was a mountain climber from the early 1900s just discovered recently.

 

[Pink Partridge]

What are we to do? There was a mountain climber from the early 1900s just discovered recently.

There are more than 50 missing in NC. And 15 are missing in TN.

As for "what are we to do?"....I am donating what I can to private accounts so they can get the equipment they need to search for their loved ones.
I wish I was physically able to help the brave volunteers with the searches.

65+ missing Americans is hard for me to wrap my brain around.

 

[Southernmiss]

It is hard to picture and very sad. Kudos to you for putting your thoughts into action.

As difficult as it is, there were still over 100 missing years after Katrina.

I am not trying to discount this tragedy, I guess I've experienced it before and know it happens.

"In 2008, a report in the Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness journal estimated that 135 people remained missing in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. The true number of fatalities from the storm is uncertain. "

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

There are more than 50 missing in NC. And 15 are missing in TN.

I read the latest number today is 26 people unaccounted for in my state of NC.

I agree with Southernmiss, unfortunately in large scale disasters, the reality is that some bodies are just not going to be found. Earthquakes, tsunamis, wildfires, hurricanes, avalanches. Some may have been carried far from their original location, deeply buried in debris, etc. It must be very difficult for their loved ones to not have that closure.

 

[Pink Partridge]

I read the latest number today is 26 people unaccounted for in my state of NC.

.

This is better news than CBS is currently reporting (they say over 50 people). Still very heartbreaking, but I am thankful CBS is wrong.

I hope the list keeps going down.

 

[RangerPooh]

Sadly, it may be possible that many are found as fallen trees and buildings are cleared, I imagine some people maybe tried to find refuge in buildings and may have gotten stuck.

This is what I was thinking. How many got swept away, moving downstream to be wedged under debris/rocks/trees, etc. That won't be found for quite some time. Or those under piles of ruble to be located after the area is cleared. There will remain unknowns and unlocated for a long time.

I do think that the media should revisit the topic of those missing or the destruction. It's going on a month. While it is out of our mind, the devastation remains real and front and center for those affected. There should also be a focus to boost tourism in some areas come spring for next summer and fall where possible.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

There should also be a focus to boost tourism in some areas come spring for next summer and fall where possible.

This is already happening. Affected areas that have recovered enough are already running ads and promoting on social media asking tourists to come back now. Not in the spring/summer/next fall, but for this fall. This was even happening a couple of weeks ago.

And before that, there was also a push for people to order things online from shops in affected areas, since lots of those businesses make a good part of their money in the fall tourist season.

 

[focusondisney]

The death count has been revised down.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/22/us/helene-north-carolina-missing.html

 

[TiggerTrigger]

This is already happening. Affected areas that have recovered enough are already running ads and promoting on social media asking tourists to come back now. Not in the spring/summer/next fall, but for this fall. This was even happening a couple of weeks ago.

And before that, there was also a push for people to order things online from shops in affected areas, since lots of those businesses make a good part of their money in the fall tourist season.

Yup...literally every day, I am seeing a social media post or reel specifically listing towns that weren't impacted that are desperately seeking tourists. I've even seen a few videos promoting cabins for rent.