What Happened To Common Sense?
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DAVE’S WORLD
By David Howell
It sure does your heart good to see the outpouring of support flowing in to western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee and other areas devastated by Hurricane Helene. It almost restores your faith in humanity and I was hooked, watching video after video on social media of the damage and help that soon followed. With the widespread power outages and spotty cell service, it took a few days for the videos and posts to start circulating and it was heart-breaking. Videos of mudslides and flooding sweeping vehicles and even homes away and images of remaining rubble.
I also saw social media used for legitimate communication – relief organizations have been able to raise funds and even coordinate specific needs for potential donors. Sadly it didn’t take long before social media was inundated with false information that takes away from the real story of people hurting, healing and ultimately rebuilding.
False information was so widely circulated that FEMA had to launch a page countering rumors related to the federal agency’s Hurricane Helene response and recovery. You know, the story that FEMA will only provide $750 to disaster survivors and countless others. FEMA has reported this is an initial payment, and additional assistance will be provided.
That said, we all know that FEMA’s track record is not the best (remember Katrina), and it appears there are problems with the federal government’s response to Helene. Honestly this is not surprising in the response for a catastrophe of this magnitude.
The good news is the strong response from people all over the country. I saw a report from a trusted source Tuesday that there are literally thousands and thousands of people on the road taking supplies to hard-hit area. There are videos of truck after truck loaded to the hilt with donated supplies.
Another sad part of this story is that very few people who had their homes destroyed by flood waters had flood insurance. Reuters reported that roughly one in 200 single-family homes in the region hit hardest by Helene is covered by the National Flood Insurance Program. The giant hurricane dumped record rainfall and places flooded that never had before.
If the same system had come our way, dumping over two feet of water, I am sure the Herald office and many other businesses and homes would have been flooded. The 100-year flood, a term used to simplify the definition of a flood that statistically has a one percent chance of occurring in any given year, is based on 8.9 inches of precipitation falling during a 24-hour period in this area. If that happens in Water Valley, an estimated 107 houses and business will flood.
Helene dumped anywhere from 13 to 30 inches of rain in the Carolinas. It probably would not be a bad idea to have flood insurance on the Herald building. Maybe I need earthquake insurance too, but we are all up to our ears in insurance premiums already.
Another insult following the storm was the AI-generated images were circulated on social media in the aftermath of Helene. One image featured a little girl holding a puppy, and at first glance it sure got me. They were in a rescue boat, and visible in the background were rescuers in another boat. This was a striking image, almost surreal. The image was widely shared on social media, and then debunked as a fake and quickly disappeared. I can’t understand what motivates someone to do this. We live in a world where seeing is no longer believing.
Another Facebook post circulated widely asked for prayers for two linemen that were killed. Thankfully I couldn’t find a single news story about this and it appears to be another rumor. Again, I can’t imagine the motivation, this false information makes it tough on all of the families who have loved ones working in the aftermath of the storm.
You know what we are missing these days – good ole common sense. And for social media, sadly the good doesn’t outweigh the bad and our demise will continue. Let’s pray for the people in Florida bracing for yet another hurricane and for the people suffering from Helene.
