The Great Flood of Asheville, 1916

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  • Опубліковано 27 січ 2025

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  • @GEEKORMAN
    @GEEKORMAN  3 місяці тому +5

    If you have any specific links to targeted relief efforts, please share them below. Thank you for all your help.

    • @referencefool6525
      @referencefool6525 3 місяці тому

      🔎📖 Climate Justice Initiative drive.google.com/file/d/1B3LKI-oCJ35nyUSnz_c7YS98gujwDa_y/view
      Planning for Climate Resilience drive.google.com/file/d/1X_Gr4eUCmkXPOzAcvyxCe-uZPkX84Byz/view

    • @JamesBarry-j7m
      @JamesBarry-j7m 3 місяці тому +1

      You know I've been trying to find good reliable information about previous flooding
      Thank you for making this video I mean from what we're seeing up here in New York is that everyone shocked that it that this is never happened before the least that's the way they're presenting it
      And I know that couldn't be true.

    • @GEEKORMAN
      @GEEKORMAN  3 місяці тому

      @@JamesBarry-j7m Thank you. I hope it can provide a bit of perspective.

  • @baxterfarmandhomestead7481
    @baxterfarmandhomestead7481 3 місяці тому +20

    The water was about 6 feet higher than the 1916 flood. The death toll on Helene is going to be way worse than 1916. I know it was Tragic for the people of 1916 as it is for people today. The population has exploded over the last 100 years which helped in making this storm taking lots more lives. I’m about 60 miles south of Asheville in Spartanburg SC. We had trees blocking every road. We had minor flooding. But Western NC got hit harder than when Hurricane Katrina came through the New Orleans area in 2005. I worked the areas around New Orleans after that storm and thought I’d never see that amount of destruction again. I really never expected it to happen so close to home.

    • @GEEKORMAN
      @GEEKORMAN  3 місяці тому +1

      Thank you for sharing what you have experienced. Sorry to hear what you are dealing with in SC. It truly is devastating for many people in several states.

    • @baxterfarmandhomestead7481
      @baxterfarmandhomestead7481 3 місяці тому +3

      @@GEEKORMAN we are good here compared to the ones just up the road. We had plenty of tree damage but so many up there lost everything. We’re going back up this weekend to help where we can.

    • @GEEKORMAN
      @GEEKORMAN  3 місяці тому

      Thank you for all of your help!

    • @erikarice6859
      @erikarice6859 3 місяці тому +4

      Slightly more specific than a population boom, is a mass migration in the nation. People moving from halfway around the country makes for transplants that don’t understand, living in a certain climate. I would have no idea what to do during an earthquake because I’ve always lived in Florida. You can’t move from Nevada to the Carolinas and have the same historical knowledge as when your family lives in an area for 100 years or more. That’s definitely a contributing factor to the obvious lack of preparedness this time.

    • @baxterfarmandhomestead7481
      @baxterfarmandhomestead7481 3 місяці тому

      @@erikarice6859 I have to disagree. People that have lived in these mountains for generations wasn’t prepared. This doesn’t happen. We are over 400 miles from where Helene came on land. Hurricanes have usually faded out before they got this far. Even people that were great at preparing were not prepared for this disaster. In the Asheville area for example the water went 6 higher than the worst flood up to that point and that was back in 1916. None of us saw this coming. Didn’t matter if you lived here for 3 weeks or were born and raised here.

  • @DamianForestLight
    @DamianForestLight 3 місяці тому +3

    They announced the dams opening that day that it flooded but didnt mention it since. There were several dams in NC and TN that were opened during the middle of the night to prevent permanant flooding

  • @myradioon
    @myradioon 3 місяці тому +21

    Close call. Helene was worse than 1916 - it was a Hurricane AND a Flood. The river crest height records set in 1916 everywhere in the area were broken by Helene (unfortunately many meters weren't functioning beforehand or washed away). The 1916 flood was caused in part by a hurricane but does not have as much reported wind damage. Helene affected roads/property nowhere near the water from wind. Tornadoes were embedded. The 1916 Flood however was caused by rain for days fueled by two separate storms end on end, one dumping 22" in an hour. The river/roads were less engineered by man then - which actually make water levels higher now, and the 1916 flood impressive. The 1916 flood affected Asheville area most seriously, there was devastation in other places of course but the mountains weren't as developed. Property damage is worse now. Helene destroyed or affected every town and road in a 100 mile radius of Asheville with wind and or water. Newer machinery/technology help us clean up/recover faster now as a plus. The Crash of 1929 came not long after 1916 when Asheville was on a rebound and then it was in debt for years.

    • @GEEKORMAN
      @GEEKORMAN  3 місяці тому +3

      Thanks for the perspective, it’s been hard to get a read on that outside of the area.

    • @danlowe8684
      @danlowe8684 3 місяці тому +8

      1916 had more rain. The development obviously leads to more damage to property but does not make it a worse storm. Two weeks of straight rain, including 22" in one 24-hour period, 800 miles of RR tracks destroyed, and towns completely cut off for weeks. Helene also had lack of dam reservoir management that resulted in opening the spill gates way too late and added to the water levels. Simply because there were fewer people, roads, bridges, houses and Starbucks in 1916, does not make it any less devastating. The RR had an 800-foot-long temporary bridge over the river built within 12 days. The city borrowed money and had emergency contracts awarded within days of the storm in the amount of $50,000 to perform tasks such as clearing paths for pack mules to bring supplies. Recency bias is common with the weather mania we are exposed to on an hourly basis.

    • @GEEKORMAN
      @GEEKORMAN  3 місяці тому +8

      It's difficult to compare when circumstances are so different, as you rightly point out. The amount of development today is definitely a big difference. To some extent, it almost doesn't matter which flood is "worse." Both were devastating, and all the people who live through them want to do is get back to a normal life.

    • @myradioon
      @myradioon 3 місяці тому +1

      @@danlowe8684 Ill give you that. Crest heights were broken in 2024 but the rain lasted longer in 1916. Both are really bad. I do try and not have recency bias. thanks for info

    • @danlowe8684
      @danlowe8684 3 місяці тому

      @@GEEKORMAN Well said.

  • @mountainslapstick6170
    @mountainslapstick6170 2 місяці тому +2

    @0:46 Is incorrect. The flood waters of 1916 were not worse, Helene crested over that flood line by 6' breaking all records and is the highest recorded flooding ever for the area.

    • @GEEKORMAN
      @GEEKORMAN  2 місяці тому

      At the time I was putting this together, it was not yet clear that Helene’s flooding had surpassed the 1916 flood, but thank you for the correction.

  • @caroleschaefer2203
    @caroleschaefer2203 3 місяці тому +2

    Is it good it's good to hear the history. I live in Asheville now. With all the building, development and infrastructure for it, that's happened since then, I don't think the severity of damage from that storm can be compared to this at all. Assessing the level of damage that's happened now, will take years. I'm sure it was devastating for the population then. Asheville has grown exponentially through the years through since then.
    When an entire population has completely lost its infrastructure, it means total devastation and will take years to rebuild. Right now they're working around the clock to restore water and power service to the entire area. Prayers for the survivors would be nice.

    • @GEEKORMAN
      @GEEKORMAN  3 місяці тому

      So sorry that this has happened to all of you. I have donated and will continue to donate to relief and rebuilding efforts, and I encourage everyone to here to do what you can to help as well. I sincerely hope things do get restored as soon as possible up there. We wish you all the best.

    • @danlowe8684
      @danlowe8684 2 місяці тому

      Downtown Ashville had four feet of water in 2004.

  • @littlehummingbird1015
    @littlehummingbird1015 3 місяці тому +4

    I sent foods and clothes and cleaning supplies last week. (from Bedford, Pa.)

    • @GEEKORMAN
      @GEEKORMAN  3 місяці тому +1

      Thank you for helping out! I’m sure the folks out there appreciate it.

    • @Fido-vm9zi
      @Fido-vm9zi 3 місяці тому

      There is stories about many, many communities sending supplies. I'm really wondering if these small communities are overwhelmed. They probably have supplies to help others.

    • @Girlinthemtns8448
      @Girlinthemtns8448 3 місяці тому

      Thank you so much. Your donations are greatly appreciated. Grateful here in Mitchell County

  • @petermillington9125
    @petermillington9125 3 місяці тому +9

    I lost everything an I'm 67. An have got nothing. But a few dollars. I owned an all paid for. My home. My life's collections. An now I sit. With no home. No truck. No place to go. No cloths. Nothing. They did not let water off the dam. Before storm. They cloud seeded up till the moment of storm. An now anything that maybe could have been saved. Now has been stolen. I paid taxes my whole life. An illegals get motels. Food. Money. Healthcare. An I sit with toothache what a crock

    • @GEEKORMAN
      @GEEKORMAN  3 місяці тому +2

      Truly sorry for your losses. I do hope you can get the help you need.

    • @donutcookiepie
      @donutcookiepie 3 місяці тому

      Take your billshit moron Trump shit elsewhere

    • @CherylWebber-vm8rr
      @CherylWebber-vm8rr 3 місяці тому +2

      More people need to hear your story!

    • @greatestever8976
      @greatestever8976 3 місяці тому

      Makes my blood boil!

  • @wegder
    @wegder 3 місяці тому +7

    I hope we learn to give rivers and streams more space.

  • @PhoenixwayNet
    @PhoenixwayNet 3 місяці тому +5

    Weather control is a more significant contributor, no doubt.

    • @GEEKORMAN
      @GEEKORMAN  3 місяці тому

      🤣

    • @gail.r.4604
      @gail.r.4604 3 місяці тому

      Of course we are crazy to consider weather control😜😜😜

    • @cameronwalker6825
      @cameronwalker6825 3 місяці тому

      🤡

    • @RedRaptor-ik6jt
      @RedRaptor-ik6jt 3 місяці тому

      ​@@gail.r.4604 On a video about a flood in 1916, yes. Also, do you have some empirical evidence that hundreds of thousands of meteorologists do not? If so, please present it to the world

  • @myradioon
    @myradioon 3 місяці тому +6

    This flood is worse. The 1916 record for flood height was broken.

    • @unapologeticallyauthentic
      @unapologeticallyauthentic 3 місяці тому +1

      Truly heartbreaking

    • @danlowe8684
      @danlowe8684 2 місяці тому

      Not true. The roots of the natural disaster began on July 5, 1916 when the skies opened up, and it rained for six days straight. When the weather cleared, the ground was completely saturated. What was needed was weeks of hot, dry weather. It wasn’t to be.On July 14, 1916 a hurricane made landfall in Charleston, South Carolina, and by the morning of the 15th the center of the storm had reached WNC. The hurricane dumped as much as 15 - 22 inches of rain in 24 hours in some areas. At the time, it was the greatest 24-hour precipitation total ever recorded in the United States. It was estimated that up to 90% of the rain that fell became runoff. The rains finally stopped, but the trouble for the people of WNC was just beginning as rivers rose and overflowed their banks.At 4:10 a.m. Sunday morning, July 16, the Swannanoa River jumped its banks and spread out toward the Biltmore Village neighborhood and the French Broad River. Hours later, earthen dams broke at Kanuga and Osceola Lakes in Henderson County, launching a wall of water into Asheville’s riverfront. The French Broad River crested at an estimated 21 feet, 17 feet above flood stage. The average width of the French Broad near Asheville was 381 feet in 1916. During the flood, it was approximately 1,300 feet across. Along the Catawba River, the flooding was similar. In some locations along its path, the Catawba rose almost 23 feet beyond previous high-water marks. It is also estimated that 80 people died as a result of the flood.It is difficult to grasp the devastation that swept across our area. It is only in reading the quotes from citizens who lived through the flood that one begins to truly understand the impact of Flood of 1916 on the people of Western North Carolina. Telegraph station at Asheville:“Asheville and Biltmore are flooded. The water is up to the ceiling in the depot. It is six feet deep in Dr. Elias’ house in Biltmore. It is in All Soul’s church-it is in the hospital-the beds are floating-the patients are drowning! The tannery is washed away-bridges are gone. Captain Lipe and some of the nurses are drowned at Biltmore. Other people are up in trees, surrounded by water, and they cannot get them out of the river. The Swannanoa is a mile wide! Box cars are floating down the French Broad. All the lakes at Hendersonville have broken.”Mrs. Gurney Franklin, Linville Falls:“The landslide, it came out of the mountain and knocked their house apart,” Franklin said. “Nobody got killed. But the lady, the man’s wife, came over here with two aprons tied around her. She got out of bed, she was so distraught that she didn’t know what she was doin’ and she came over here with two aprons, one in front and one behind. She was so scared to death.”Dr. Lucious Morse, Chimney Rock:“The horrors of that night cannot be told. The rain fell in such solid masses that one seemed to be under a waterfall and it not only undermined houses but actually tore them to pieces. The noise of the rain was like continuous thunder, added to the roar of the river and the shock of the mountain sides literally crashing into the valleys. It was in fact a cataclysm, such as these mountains have probably not experienced in recent geological periods. The forces of nature setting themselves to a gigantic movement simply paralyzed anything that man could do and literally stunned imagination. The people who went through that awful night can never forget the shock of it.”“Throughout the night there were hours of horror, and when daylight came the worst scene of desolation ever viewed in the mountain became visible. The river began to recede, at times, and then, strange to say, would suddenly rise again, walls of water coming down the river like an ocean tide, with the thunderous noise of waves beating on a rocky coast. The greatest height of the water was reached at between 10 o’clock and midnight Saturday night. Only houses built deep in the mountain sides are standing.”

  • @CuriousMouseExploration
    @CuriousMouseExploration 3 місяці тому +2

    We have to start building to the environment of any specific area much better. Recall historic floods as well as current trends. Every so often, you're going to get the worst flood ever only to find out that 100 years ago or more or less, there was a similar flood. I know it's difficult to remember what happened around 50 years ago, let alone 100 years ago. But that is a must as much as possible. My guess is Helene is worse than the flood in 1916 for several reasons: higher populations, erosion, unmaintained flood channels, and/or lack of artificial flood channels. Or maybe we're just going to have a "great flood" every 100 years that we will have to deal with when it happens. I don't know. But after every natural disaster, we need to build wisely and to that environment. I hope you all recover - God bless.

    • @GEEKORMAN
      @GEEKORMAN  3 місяці тому

      Well said. I hope the era of just building anywhere and everywhere is coming to an end. Smart design and construction is the way forward.

  • @royreynolds108
    @royreynolds108 3 місяці тому +1

    The reason flooding seems to be getting worse is not "climate change" but more and more asphalt for roads and parking lots along with many more roofs of buildings prevent rainwater from more readily soaking into the ground making the runoff more destructive than it previously was. This also includes the heavy rains the few days before the storm hit.

    • @GEEKORMAN
      @GEEKORMAN  3 місяці тому

      Much of western North Carolina's land area is not covered in asphalt or roofs, and yet the flooding was catastrophic. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says that warmer average global temperatures warm ocean temperatures, and hurricanes gain strength and intensity as they build over those warmer waters. They are absorbing more moisture, too. That is something that can and has been measured.

    • @mr.liberty5086
      @mr.liberty5086 2 місяці тому

      ​@@GEEKORMANOn that statement, You should ask yourself why NASA et al tampers with the raw temp. data and why the use of satellite data can't detect true temp. data. Another huge fallacy is why the entities of the "global warming" mindset compare data from 1990 and forward until today and use the Michael Mann(the Hockey Stick) non scientific method, as if they collaborate with the non "green energy" industry et al. Another aspect is the pinpointed use of temp. data from thermometers with increasing urban heat and the claims of "global warming" in countries with almost no data, but yet used to push an agenda. Lastly is these catastrophic events known to happen by prophecy statements and the events of these catastrophes including increasing earthquakes etc. isn't done by the hands/actions of mankind. It's much more complex than presented by the "experts".

  • @jodydickson5713
    @jodydickson5713 3 місяці тому +8

    Looks to me like people should consider this flooding that occurs every twenty years and not live there!!!!

    • @GEEKORMAN
      @GEEKORMAN  3 місяці тому +3

      At least in the particular areas that keep flooding out, yes. Also, developers should maybe not be allowed to build on unsteady slopes.

    • @reapthewhirlwind4166
      @reapthewhirlwind4166 3 місяці тому

      ​@@GEEKORMANMiami sits right at sea level. With concrete asphalt and tons of buildings there's really no place for the water to go. So they have lovely floodings from these hurricanes.

  • @13013134s
    @13013134s 3 місяці тому +4

    Isn't it obvious that it's going to happen again... and seems like a legitimate guess to guess the next one will worse? Like it's probably gonna take 20 years to rebuild and average catastrophe is every 20 years..

    • @GEEKORMAN
      @GEEKORMAN  3 місяці тому

      Sadly, that's probably true. At least seems like that should be taken into consideration when rebuilding. Climate mitigation is probably also worth considering.

    • @13013134s
      @13013134s 3 місяці тому +3

      @GEEKORMAN it's just sad from my view.. any children that died was because their parents made the decision for them.. I could careless about people's properties.. but watching innocent children die is horrible...

    • @unapologeticallyauthentic
      @unapologeticallyauthentic 3 місяці тому +1

      What decision was it that the parentsmade​ that allowed the child to die?@13013134s

    • @13013134s
      @13013134s 3 місяці тому +3

      @@unapologeticallyauthentic not evacuating.. by staying in a flood zone..

    • @bonniemoerdyk9809
      @bonniemoerdyk9809 3 місяці тому +2

      @@13013134s ~ Who woulda guessed waaay up in the mountains that Helene woulda struck them? If they are already that high up...what are you to do? Maybe every human in the States should flee to the North Pole to escape Helene?

  • @Tblillard
    @Tblillard 2 місяці тому

    Helen resulted in worse flooding. The French Broad crested at 26-27 ft. with Helene.

  • @bonniebulow7654
    @bonniebulow7654 3 місяці тому +12

    THE BIBLE tells us these things will happen in the last days.

    • @bonniemoerdyk9809
      @bonniemoerdyk9809 3 місяці тому +2

      AMEN Bonnie! 📖⚖😱💫💣🦂🪲🦠💰🍞💸 ...🛐🛐🛐

    • @SelfAware7
      @SelfAware7 3 місяці тому

      🤦🏼‍♂️

    • @SelfAware7
      @SelfAware7 3 місяці тому +4

      I guess it’s been the “last days” for the past 2000 years 🤦🏼‍♂️

    • @jujumulligan43
      @jujumulligan43 3 місяці тому

      ​@@SelfAware7wisely said

    • @DamianForestLight
      @DamianForestLight 3 місяці тому

      Matthew 24:37

  • @reapthewhirlwind4166
    @reapthewhirlwind4166 3 місяці тому +1

    The 1916 flood was only 46 years before I was born. I feel like a fossil

    • @GEEKORMAN
      @GEEKORMAN  3 місяці тому +1

      We’ll all be there eventually…

  • @stankystanky12
    @stankystanky12 3 місяці тому

    Your statement that 1916 was “even worse” is not accurate. Helenes flood waters went well beyond the 1916 flood levels.

    • @GEEKORMAN
      @GEEKORMAN  3 місяці тому

      Sadly, it looks like you’re correct. That was not known at the time when I made the video.

  • @mr.liberty5086
    @mr.liberty5086 2 місяці тому

    ​@GEEKORMAN On that statement, You should ask yourself why NASA et al tampers with the raw temp. data and why the use of satellite data can't detect true temp. data. Another huge fallacy is why the entities of the "global warming" mindset compare data from 1990 and forward until today and use the Michael Mann(the Hockey Stick) non scientific method, as if they collaborate with the non "green energy" industry et al. Another aspect is the pinpointed use of temp. data from thermometers with increasing urban heat and the claims of "global warming" in countries with almost no data, but yet used to push an agenda. Lastly is these catastrophic events known to happen by prophecy statements and the events of these catastrophes including increasing earthquakes etc. isn't done by the hands/actions of mankind. It's much more complex than presented by the "experts".

    • @GEEKORMAN
      @GEEKORMAN  2 місяці тому

      Show me your sources and I’ll respond.

    • @mr.liberty5086
      @mr.liberty5086 2 місяці тому

      @GEEKORMAN Just read the books of the late Professor Tim Ball and you'll understand how the complexity in climate and weather patterns is far from understood. The push for "climate change/global warming" based on the CO2 nonsense isn't science, as weather conditions is known to be just as harsh in the past. The statements about the NASA tampering of temperatures is revealed by Tony Heller and Tim Ball. If interested, both Tony Heller and Mr. Ball was invited to Australia a few years ago by Senator Malcolm Roberts, to give some lectures on the narrative about "global warming." These lectures is still available if you type Malcolm Roberts on YT.
      I just saw your message now, so better late than no response from me.

  • @legitbeans9078
    @legitbeans9078 3 місяці тому

    Ive got your wettest September on record right here

  • @danlowe8684
    @danlowe8684 2 місяці тому

    Nope, all my people love the fact that we don't cave in...NOMEsayin???

  • @donaldstrickland8093
    @donaldstrickland8093 Місяць тому

    You might want to do some research on weather manipulation

    • @GEEKORMAN
      @GEEKORMAN  Місяць тому

      Sure, please feel free to share a good link.

  • @legitbeans9078
    @legitbeans9078 3 місяці тому

    I've got your pouring 22 inches right here

  • @mob8633
    @mob8633 3 місяці тому +1

    How can you call this a natural disaster...?????

    • @GEEKORMAN
      @GEEKORMAN  3 місяці тому

      That’s what hurricanes and floods are generally referred to as. The severity of this one may be unnatural, however.

    • @reapthewhirlwind4166
      @reapthewhirlwind4166 3 місяці тому

      Mountains have flash floods mountains have heavy rain. Everybody is acting like something strange is happening and it's just mother nature. The people of Asheville choose to live in a floodplain so let them stay there. Millions of people live at sea level in Miami. The storms will come.

  • @lizcorredor3480
    @lizcorredor3480 3 місяці тому

    That's sad too many rivers that's what causes the flood