Natural disasters are nothing new on the planet. The fact that they are referred to as “natural” begs the question why we are so often caught asking ourselves “why?” The latest rampages of Mother Nature in North America – Storm Helene (closely followed by Storm Milton) – brought unexpected destruction because of the high ground where it dumped its record-breaking rainfall.
We don’t normally link hurricane damage with the Smokey Mountains. As I visited some of the hardest hit areas of western North Carolina, the irony was on full display: a number of survivors with whom I spoke had recently moved here from Florida, hoping to avoid such tempests. No such luck. Communities built along streams over 100 years ago for the mill power that the river could provide were ultimately destroyed by that very power on steroids.
