Hurricane Ivan Vs. The Town Of Franklin

Warren Cabe, Macon County's director of emergency management services, on Saturday called "the worst natural disaster in Macon County history."

FEMA, Others Offer Help

From the Macon County News and Shopping Guide www.maconnews.com

For those suffering a loss and needing assistance, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has opened a mobile unit at the Macon County Community Building as of Wednesday morning. It will remain open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. through Friday, Sept. 24, according to Frank Mansell, public affairs officer.

FEMA’s mobile DRC van will be clearly marked and stationed at the entrance. Officials encourage individuals to apply for disaster assistance by call the toll free number 1-800-621-3362.

Registrars are taking applications 24 hours a day until further notice. Persons who are hearing or speech impaired can apply by calling a special TTY number, 1-800-462-7585. If the wait is long, don’t get discouraged as there are others experiencing on-going disasters. Non peak calling times are currently between midnight and 4:30 a.m.

When calling, you are asked to have the following information available: a phone number in case FEMA needs to call back; social security number; current mailing address; address of damaged property; brief description of damages; insurance information.

Registration for federal assistance takes about 20 minutes on the phone, but if one has all of the information available at the time of calling.

Persons with losses must also inform their insurance carrier of their losses and follow procedures for filing a claim. Even with insurance, you should register with FEMA because disaster assistance may be available to help uninsured or underinsured losses or expenses.

FEMA warns of scams that seem to follow their offices into disaster areas and call people to obtain bank information or credit card numbers.

Butch Ducote of FEMA and Frank Mansell, public affairs officer, both say that FEMA does not charge for, nor asks for personal banking information. All such calls should be reported to local authorities or FEMA.

After applying for assistance, FEMA will issue an application number and an inspector will come to your property to assess damage that is eligible for assistance programs.

State and federal assistance programs include: grants for short term rental needs, minimal home repairs or to meet serious disaster-related needs not covered by other programs.

Low interest loans from the US Small Business Administration are also available to cover residential and business losses not fully compensated by insurance.

Ducote also reported that President Bush had ordered federal disaster aid to help people in western North Carolina from both Tropical Storm Frances and Ivan and that aid was available for residents in the 16 western counties of the state including Macon and Jackson.

Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response, said that local governments are also eligible to apply for federal funds that will initially pay 100 percent of the approved costs for debris removal and emergency services related to the storm, including requested emergency work undertaken by the federal government, for a period of up to 72 hours.

Funding will also be available to the state on a cost-shared basis for approved projects that reduce future disaster risks.

Ivan Storms Through Macon, WNC

From the Macon County News and Shopping Guide www.maconnews.com

At least five persons died last week as a result of a massive mud slide that brought down boulders and trees crashing into homes and vehicles in the Peeks Creek community of Macon County the night of Thursday, Sept. 16, 2004.

It was a night of terror and turmoil that will be forever remembered in Macon County history. Emergency Services Director Warren Cabe said it is the worst natural disaster in the county’s history.

A geologist was still investigating the area Monday to determine what caused the slide and whether it is safe for those still living in the area to remain in their homes.

Ryan McCollum, a member of the Cullasaja Gorge Fire and Rescue Department had been out rescuing other flood victims. He was on his way home when the report came in of a tornado touching down in Peeks Creek. He lost his mother, Sharol McCollum, 54, his son, Colt, almost four years old, and an unborn infant. His wife remains in critical condition in an Asheville hospital.

The fatalities also included Kattie Watts of Pensacola, Fl., mid-40s, who had come here to stay to avoid Hurricane Ivan which sent devastating winds and rain into that city when it made landfall earlier in the week.

Cabe said that one person is still unaccounted for although as recently as Monday they had found the partial remain of a body that has not yet been identified. That would bring the death toll from the Peeks Creek disaster to five.

In the first of several press conferences, Cabe said that on Sept. 16, Macon County began receiving its first flooding calls at 7 p.m. They received the call from the Peeks Creek area about 11 p.m. that night when a report came in that a house had collapsed, then a number of houses were involved and people were trapped inside their homes.

Preliminary estimates were that 20 to 30 homes were involved, but that was eventually reduced to 15 homes. He said that a flash flood had apparently swept through the narrow canyon-like area bringing with it trees and boulders.

Countywide there were some 12,000 power outages, roads were closed due to mud slides, trees and power lines down.

Cabe said they had about ten injuries from cuts and bruises to broken legs. Some houses were completely buried and didn’t look like homes.

Cabe said they do no know what happened, but they had no chance to evacuate or warn anyone, it was totally unexpected and that there was not dam or pond that would have caused the problem. He said the damage did not match that of a tornado.

Injured had to be carried out and in one case, a medical person was placed with a patient and stayed with them all night until they could get them out.

Cullasaja Gorge Fire and Rescue Chief Johnny Teem described the scene as a nightmare, noting that he received a call the night of Sept. 16 and arrived on the scene, entering Peeks Creek area by way of the Highlands Road. He was met by a wall of trees and debris.

He called for help, lots of it, and drove back around to the River Road entrance to Peeks Creek. They found Peeks Creek Road blocked with brush and washed out, but sent rescuers up both sides of the creek, wading through calf-deep mud on the left side.
They began finding victims and helping them out. It took eight hours to get the second victim out.

Teem said their flashlights started going dim and their radios were so wet and signals were being interrupted. Later, Search and Rescue Emergency Management Teams from Raleigh and Charlotte began arriving and spelling Macon County EMS personnel. “We couldn’t have done it without their help,” Teem said. They brought manpower and more equipment.

Teem said they went from top to bottom, searching the piles of trees and brush. Where they found vehicles, they took the piles apart to look in the vehicles for any survivors.

The chief said that one resident said they heard a big roar like a train coming through. They shined a light out and saw a wall of trees. Even as their house began to move, the man and his wife ran through and out the back door and up the hill behind their house, hanging on to trees. It saved them.

Sheriff Robert Holland told reporters at a press conference that security was tight in the area, because sightseers had come in and began picking things up as souvenirs and in general were getting in the way of the response teams working to find any survivors.

Monday, K-9 teams were brought in to search brush piles and creek banks along with swift water rescue teams.

Cabe and Holland warned of scam artists who were reported in the area and said they would be dealt with harshly.

Duke Power Southern Region Vice President Barbara Orr said at one news conference that 2400 people were working in WNC to restore power, that more than 32,000 customers had been without. Some were without power from Thursday, Sept. 16 through Wednesday, Sept. 22. She also announced that Duke Power had donated $25,000 to the American Red Cross disaster relief fund.

Cabe said they had delayed identifying the bodies of victims because with such widespread power outage, many roads still closed, and no television or radio it was difficult to make sure that all family members of the victims had been told.

Gov. Easley activated the NC National Guard in advance of the storm and the state’s Urban Search and Rescue and Swift Water Rescue Teams were also pre-deployed across the state. The Highway Patrol had 144 troopers ready to deploy to support local officers in the western and central areas of the state, and an additional 642 officers were on alert.

The Department of Transportation and Forest Resources were also ready for road repair, debris clearance and clean up.

Gov. Easley and US Rep. Charles Taylor both visited the area, especially the Peeks Creek disaster and offered whatever assistance the county needed in helping to get people back on their feet.

Cabe warned of scam artists and price gouging and said both would be dealt with harshly in Macon County. “We will not tolerate that,” Cabe said at a press conference. He also warned that if you make a donation, make sure it is to a legitimate collection agent and not scam artists.

Recovery center opens at facilities building

From The Franklin Press www.thefranklinpress.com

On Wednesday of this week, FEMA opened a Disaster Recovery at the Macon County Community Facilities Building on 441 South. FEMA representatives will be available at the center from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., through at least Friday, Sept. 24. Spanish interpreters will be provided at the site. Residents must call the toll-free FEMA helpline at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) to begin the application process.

If residents have not called this number when they arrive at the FEMA Disaster Recovery Center, they will be directed to a phone and instructed to call at that time. Residents will have 60 days from Sept. 16 to file a claim with FEMA through the 1-800-621-FEMA number.

If you have a claim, take photographs of damaged property and possessions before beginning the clean-up and replacement process. These photographs will document the losses for FEMA and your insurance claims.

Other agencies present at the Disaster Recovery Center will be:

* NC Employment Security Commission

* Department of Social Services

* American Red Cross

* Salvation Army

* N.C. Baptist Men (to assist with debris removal and re-building)

* Macon Program for Progress

* Various religious groups

* Mental health representatives

* Health department

* A table with information from various other government, religious, and charitable organizations

Residents in need of transportation to the center may call Macon Area Transit Service at 349-2222 for free transportation to the site. For general information concerning the services available at the Disaster Recovery Center, call 349-2090 from 8 am to 8 pm.

Community building closed

The Macon County Community Facilities Building will be closed until further notice. All events scheduled will be canceled. FEMA will be using the building as long as necessary.

Ivan may be county's most costly storm

By Candice Cunningham - News editor

The Franklin Press www.thefranklinpress.com

It might be the deadliest - and costliest - storm to ever hit Macon County.

Local officials are estimating damages to roads, homes, businesses and properties to cost millions.

The storm last Thursday that claimed at least four lives in one night also washed out roads and bridges, buried homes in mud and water, ripped down power lines, severed telephone communications and toppled trees.

Warren Cabe, director of Macon County emergency services, said the storm damaged 197 structures and destroyed 10 private bridges.

Agriculture and forestry officials are also assessing damages.

Structure damage included 15 homes in the Peeks Creek community, where devastation was concentrated due to a massive two-mile mudslide.

It killed at least four.

County Tax Administrator Richard Lightner said damages to homes there is about $1.6 million,

Lightner is continuing to assess property damage throughout the county. The process could take at least a week, he said.

The damage will cost the county in lost tax revenue.

Nevertheless, Lightner said the county's annual rate of new home construction would offset losses.

"We'll be fine," he said.

Lightner said he was more concerned about residents who have suffered property damage.

"We don't want to send people a tax bill for property that has been hurt by the damage," he said.

In some cases, homeowners who have lost their homes to water damage might not be able to rebuild in the same location, he said, due to more recent state housing regulations that designate setbacks from waterways.

Several roads in the county became impassible during the storm due to flooding, washouts and mudslides.

Joel Setzer, division engineer with the N.C. Department of Transportation, said teams of transportation officials are assessing damages.

"We're anticipating very high dollar amounts," he said.

They should know a cost by the middle of next week, he said.

Some roads experienced washouts from the heavy rain.

All of them are now passable, said Wesley Grindstaff, DOT maintenance engineer for Macon County.

Three main roads have only one lane open in some spots, he said.

They include Buck Creek Road and Horse Cove Road in the Highlands area and Wayah Road in West Macon.

"Every state road has damage of some type or another," Grindstaff said.

The DOT will have to rebuild the Peeks Creek Bridge and a portion of the road, both destroyed during the storm.

Setzer said local roads are built to resist normal flooding - not the type seen last Thursday.

Building roads to withstand rare historic flooding like that brought by tropical storm Ivan is very expensive, he said.

Before the storm, transportation officials made efforts to lessen the impact on local bridges by removing "drifts" or debris caught underneath them.

They removed a pile of logs and other garbage stuck at the base of the Franklin town bridge the morning of the storm.

U.S. Forest Service officials reported that more than 20 roads were damaged in the Wayah Ranger District.

Initial cost estimates total from $750,000 to $1 million for repairs.

Some roads remain closed for public safety.

They include Ball Creek Road, Shope Fork and Deep Gap.

Standing Indian Road will be open to Grassy Gap.

District Ranger Mike Wilkins said finding money and preparing contracts to repair the roads is a first priority.

Foot bridges on trails including Big Indian, Little Indian and Beech Gap are gone or severely damaged.

Forest service officials warn hikers to be careful. People reported slides on the Bartram and Appalachian trails.

So far, forest service officials inspected 200 miles of the 550-mile road system.

Several businesses throughout the county are continuing to recover from damages.

Owners of Zickgraf Enterprises in Franklin reported that five feet of mud, silt and water engulfed one of their main warehouses.

It could cost millions, they said.

The Tellico Trout Farm, in the county's northern region, lost approximately 60,000 pounds of fish.

In addition to damages, the storm created other hazards.

The Environmental Protection Agency cleaned up 21 hazardous material sites including gas tanks and oil tanks that floated into the river, Cabe said.

Duke Power officials reported on Thursday that no Ivan-related power outages remained. The company and other contractors restored power to 31,700 customers in Western North Carolina counties.

The cost of the power outages is still unknown.

For more in Ivan see our photo gallery and special Section.

Peeks Creek update

Emergency and rescue workers are still searching through debris left by a two-mile debris flow in the Peeks Creek community in an effort to locate the remains of the last missing person.

Authorities reported on Monday that they located human remains but they would identify them.

Geological information services, or GIS, technicians, flew over the site this week in order to plot the debris flow and the damages it caused.

A team compiled by county emergency management services director Warren Cabe will include hydrological and geological experts to survey the damage to determine a cause of the debris flow.

The event caused soil, mud and water to slide down the steep slope and rush into the community, pushing homes on top of each other and crushing people.

An estimated 300 people from many parts of the state joined earlier rescue efforts.

One terrifying night on Peeks Creek
By Becky Johnson • Staff Writer
Smoky Mountain News www.smokymountainnews.com

An avalanche of water, mud, boulders and uprooted trees swept through the small community of Peeks Creek outside Franklin last Thursday night, killing five people and injuring about two dozen who were trapped or crushed in their homes.

The landslide, triggered by heavy rains from the remnants of Hurricane Ivan, left a swath of destruction a half-mile long and 20- feet wide. Fifteen homes were ripped in half, smashed into splinters, or swept away completely.

The only road into the cove was impassable and phone service knocked out, further isolating the already remote community. A woman at the foot of the cove managed to flee and drove to the Cullasaja fire station where volunteer rescue workers were on storm watch. It was nearly 9:30 p.m. and pitch dark, but she described hearing a terrible roar, like a train screaming down the mountain.

When rescue workers arrived at the foot of Peeks Creek, their truck headlights revealed a terrible scene. The cove was a jumbled mass of boulders, vehicles and busted houses pushed into piles along a freshly-cut gorge, stripped bare down the middle. The creek — just four-feet-across under normal conditions — was torrential river.

“Boulders were rolling down through there like bowling balls. It was like dominos all the way down,” said Cullasaja Fire Chief Johnny Teem. “You never knew if there would be another cloud burst and here come another wall down through there.”

Armed with nothing but flashlights, the rescuers headed into the mountain avalanche. Expecting a basic evacuation from a flashflood event, they lacked essential excavation equipment like axes and crowbars and ropes. But faced with hollering, crying victims pinned under piles of rubble, they couldn’t spare the time it would take to go back to the fire station for tools. They began digging people out with their bare hands.

“It’s one of those things where you just can’t believe what you’re seeing,” said Mike Bryson, 59, a volunteer with the Cullasaja Fire Department. “You never thought that it could happen — something like that in a place like this.”

More rescuers arrived soon, some 30 in all, equipped with chainsaws and ropes and backboards and stockbaskets. They moved from house to house, wading through knee-deep mud and cutting fallen trees as they went.

At one point, rescue workers strung a rope across the creek to get a chainsaw to the other side, Teem said. But communication between rescue parties was cut off part way through the night when batteries in their soaked radios quit working.

Some survivors had to be carted nearly a half-mile through the still raging storm to medical crews waiting at the foot of the cove.

Meanwhile, water in the Cullasaja River below Peeks Creek continued to rise, swamping bridges leading back to the main road and cutting-off exit routes for ambulances.

Among the rescue workers that night was Ryan McCollum, a resident of the Peeks Creek community. Anticipating flooding along the Cullasaja River, McCollum and the other volunteer firemen had been on flood watch all evening — alternately reviewing evacuation plans at the fire station, monitoring the river and warning residents in flood-prone areas to be on alert. McCollum’s 3-year-old son, his wife who was seven months pregnant and his mother were all at home.

McCollum was with the first team to arrive at Peek’s Creek. Witnessing the devastation, he jumped out of his truck and ran up the cove. McCollum’s house was on the other side of the swollen creek, still raging with rock and debris, and he couldn’t get across.

He later learned that his entire family had been trapped in their collapsed home. His son and mother were killed. His wife, Christy, survived but was in critical condition at Mission Hospital as of press time. Her unborn child was lost during the storm.

A long night and day

By 1 a.m., officials at Angel Hospital in Franklin launched their disaster plan, rousing nurses and other staff into work.

“We were notified sometime before midnight that an incident had occurred in Peeks Creek. We implemented code black,” said Martin Wadewitz, associate administrator of the hospital.

The medical helicopter from Asheville was not flying Thursday night due to 60 mph winds. Instead, Mission Hospital dispatched a team of ambulances to make the 75-mile trip to Franklin, where they waited at Angel Hospital to transport critical patients as they arrived.

Angel Hospital ultimately treated 24 injured flood victims, Wadewitz said. Another four patients were sent on to Mission Hospital in Asheville.

By dawn, rescue teams from Charlotte had bolstered the effort. Search and rescue continued through mid-day Friday, and by afternoon a mandatory evacuation of the entire community was completed.

Brendan Drohan with a National Guard unit from Winston-Salem was among the rescuers. All the way down the mountain, victims would beg for information about neighbors and relatives who lived along Peeks Creek.

“They kept asking, ‘Have you seen a trailer? Do you know if they found people in a trailer?’ That’s when it hit me, this is as real as it’s going to get,” Drohan said.

Teem said the rescuers who worked that night will carry a heavy burden for years.

“They might not be affected right now, but in a couple of days when they get to thinking about what they saw it will really affect them,” Teem said.

Victims of the Peeks Creek mudslide were too shaken to speak about their experience.

“The only word I got is ‘horrible,’” said one man who lost two family members in the disaster.

The man was one of 14 people crowded into the Dills’ house on Peeks Creek Thursday night. The house was typically home to a family of four, Allen and Debbie Dills, their 14-year old son and 11-year-old daughter.

Tonight, the Dills were harboring relatives from Florida. Seeking refuge from Hurricane Ivan, three generations of one family had come home to Peeks Creek for the week. They were camping at a summer trailer down the hill from the Dills’ house.

The passel of children were bored and restless from the rain, so Debbie invited the whole family to her house to watch movies. The grandparents opted to turn in early at the trailer, but the rest headed up the hill to the house.

Sometime after 9 p.m., the power went out and a deafening racket tore down the mountain past their home.

“It was like an explosion,” Dills said.

Their neighbor’s house crashed into their yard. They found their neighbor in the wreckage, pinned under debris with both legs broken. They pulled him into their house and tried to stop the bleeding. They moved all the children into a bathroom at the back of the house and kept them there all night.

Meanwhile, Debbie set up her ham radio to make contact with the outside world. She reached another ham radio operator in Nantahala shortly after 11 p.m. and told her to call 911, that there was a medical emergency on Peeks Creek.

“I didn’t think we would make it through the night,” said Dill’s 14-year-old son, James.

While the house held up, the trailer where the grandparetns were sleeping was swept away and they were killed. The body of Katie Watts was recovered early in the search. But her husband was officially considered missing for three days until cadaver dogs were called in and his remains uncovered.

As word spread through the region Friday morning of a catastrophe in Peeks Creek, those with friends and family in the community were desperate. Residents were frantically calling county dispatch wanting to know who was rescued, who was still up there and, God forbid, was anyone dead? Many of these questions couldn’t be answered, as search and rescue was still under way. Law enforcement barricades blocked family members trying to reach the community.

That forced Kenneth Carver to hike through the woods to check on his frail, elderly mother who lived alone and was on oxygen. Carver was hopeful when he set out, however. His cousin hiked in earlier that morning to check on other family members and saw that Carver’s mother’s house was at least still standing.

But there was bad news, too. Two family members who had come up from Florida were missing and presumed dead.

“What’s really sad is they came up here to get away from it,” said Kenneth Carver, kin to the Florida couple.

Like most, Carver said he had “no idea what happened up there.”

“It’s real bad. That’s all I know,” Carver said before setting out through the woods for his momma.

What happened

Victims who lived through the disaster and rescue workers who witnessed the aftermath were hard pressed to figure out what had befallen Peeks Creek.

It was improbable that a flash flood could cause such destruction. Granted, the Peeks Creek cove is surrounded on three sides by a bowl-like mountian that funnels surface water from a massive area into one primary creek. But it seemed improbable that a four-foot-wide creek could swell to a width of 150 .

Given the denuded landscape, many initially surmised a tornado had swept through. But none of the debris was severely twisted, the telltale sign of a twister.

“I don’t know what it was. A tornado, a flashflood, just Mother Nature,” said Teem. Rescue workers described an unusual feature at the head of the cove. It looked like the side of the mountain had busted open, Teem said.

Larry Estes, a 67-year-old volunteer with the Cullasaja Fire Department, didn’t see the disaster. From the descriptions of fellow rescuers, though, he said it sounded like a mudslide.

“When that water builds up, sort of ponds up under there, it’ll break lose. The soil liquefies is what it does,” said Estes, a gem miner and rock hound familiar with the geology in Macon County. Estes has come across such landslides during forays into the mountains. To a trained eye, the scars remain visible for years, Estes said. The early prospectors in Macon sought out these slides for easy mining.

“I’ve told people it’s not the floods they need to worry about. It’s these mudslides,” Estes said.

According to experts, Estes is right. Only the technical term is a “debris flow.”

Gerald Wieczorek, a research civil engineer with the United States Geological Service in West Virginia, said the Peeks Creek catastrophe fits the a textbook description of a “debris flow.”

“Some people who have seen these things say they appear to be a huge, rapidly moving wall,” Wieczorek said.

“It initiates with a collapse of soil at a high elevation. It has so much water in it, it changes the earth from a solid to a fluid,” Wieczorek said. “As it continues to travel, it often accelerates because of the steep slope. While it’s traveling down, it picks up more material. It picks up more rock and picks up vegetation and trees with it.”

Two days before the landslide in Peeks Creek, Wieczorek issued a widespread landslide warning for 10 states in the Southern Appalachian mountain chain.

“Given the wet soil conditions we already have in many of these areas due to the heavy rain from recent Hurricane Frances, the risk of numerous, fast-moving landslides is significant,” Wieczorek stated in his warning.

“In many areas, there had been preceding rainfall from Hurricane Frances, so it didn’t take as much rainfall,” Wieczorek said.

The worst documented debris flow in America was in Nelson County, Va., in 1969 as a result of Hurricane Camille. Like Ivan, the hurricane came up from the Gulf of Mexico and crossed the Appalachian range, dumping up to 30 inches of rain on mountainous Virginia.

“It triggered so many debris flows, 150 were killed,” Wieczorek said.

In June 1995, an isolated storm triggered up to 1,000 debris flows in Madison County. In 1940, a hurricane moving across the mountains also caused numerous debris flows in Western North Carolina.

Unfortunately, exact locations of debris flows are hard to predict and often have little warning. Areas with a history of debris flows are likely candidates, Wieczorek said. People should stay awake and alert during storm events, listening and watching for falling earth that would hint at a debris flow on the way, Wieczorek said.

Downstream from Peeks Creek

Many residents with homes along the Cullasaja River downstream from Peeks Creek barely escaped floodwaters that engulfed their homes rapidly around 10 p.m. At least two large campgrounds are located in the floodplain along the Cullasaja River. While permanent structures aren’t allowed in the floodplain, the campgrounds house a community of seasonal residents who live six months of the year in campers, trailers and RVs.

Ed Osborne was working feverishly to tow the campers in Old Conundrum Campground to higher ground when the river engulfed his tractor.

“It’s like a wall of water came down the river,” said Osborne.

“We drove the tractor out of there and next thing you know there were trailers coming down the river.”

Osborne described a trailer smashing into the Nickijack bridge over the Cullasaja and smashing like a tin can. It got sucked under the bridge and spit out on the other side in pieces, he said.

“All of a sudden that water came up like that,” said campground resident Betty Davis, snapping her fingers to emphasize the water’s speed.

Homes along the Cullasaja were devastated as well.

Kim Watkins, who was manning the emergency rescue shelter at the Cullasaja Fire Department all night, relayed the story of one woman whose home lifted off its foundation. She waved a flashlight out the window until rescuers in a boat spotted her.

Meanwhile, the Little Tennessee River flooded homes along N.C. 28 north of Franklin. Bridges spanning the Little Tennessee in downtown Franklin were engulfed by the flood and stayed that way throughout the day Friday, hindering traffic in and out of town.

The Cartoogechaye Creek flooded and wiped out a trailer park and homes along its bank.

Britthaven Nursing Home evacuated all 180 patients from its facility along Cartoogechaye Creek, marking the second flood evacuation in little more than a week for some of the patients. The Pigeon River flooded a Britthaven facility in Clyde during Hurricane Frances a week prior, rendering the facility unusable and uprooting patients. Forty-four were brought to the Britthaven facility in Franklin, and they all had to endure a second round of storm evacuations.

“Some were a little anxious, thinking ‘I just got here and thought I was safe now,’” said Charlotte Young, the administrator. The facility was evacuated at 3:30 a.m. when rising water began to seep across the road, threatening to cut off the nursing home. The entire nursing home was relocated to the Cartoogechaye School until the next evening when water receded.

“We took every piece of equipment, our potty chairs, our charts,” Young said. Staff was called into work despite some having lost their own homes in the flood.

Mini-floods cropped up countywide. What were once small drainage ditches through backyards and along roadsides turned into creeks and ponds, washing out driveways and flooding basements.

In other places, water rushed off slopes and created creeks where before none existed. Four inches of water seeped into the Phillips 66 gas station on U.S. 441 north of town. There’s no creek or ditch around the store; the water simply washed down off the hillside out back.

CITIZEN-TIMES.com

One person missing after landslide that claimed 4 lives, officials say

By Jon Ostendorff, Staff Writer

Sept. 20, 2004 11:38 p.m.

FRANKLIN - With one person still missing, searchers used cadaver dogs Monday to sniff through the twisted rubble of the Peeks Creek community in southern Macon County.

Authorities said a landslide that sent homes crashing one against the other killed least four people, including an unborn child whose mother remained in critical condition. She had been seven months pregnant.

Tropical Storm Ivan produced a wall of water, mud, rocks and trees that barreled through the community. The creek, typically 6-feet wide, swelled to a torrential river more than 50-yards wide, wiping out homes in its path.

Searchers found partial human remains but had not determined whether they were those of an individual listed as missing, said Warren Cabe, emergency services director.

Cabe identified the bodies of those found in the Peeks Creek landslide as: Sharon McCollum, 54, of Franklin; Colton McCollum, 3, of Franklin; Kattie Watts, no age available, of Pensacola, Fla.

Sharon McCollum was Colton McCollum's grandmother. Bryant Funeral home is handling the service. The obituaries were incomplete Monday evening.

Cabe said Watts' husband, James, was still missing. The couple came to stay with family in Macon County to avoid Ivan's direct hit on the Florida Panhandle.

Law enforcement officers blocked access to the small cove community near U.S. 64 between Franklin and Highlands while search and rescue workers continued sifting through the rubble.

The landslide left twisted clumps of trees scattered across what had been a road along the bank of the creek.

The trees were stripped clean of their bark by the force of the water. Boulders knee-high and 4 feet wide were stacked along the once-calm creek bank. The landslide left the road barley visible under mud and rock. Houses were pushed off their foundations and sent down the mountain.

Gov. Mike Easley flew over the area in a helicopter Monday, saying he was amazed that more homes weren't destroyed than the 15 that were swept away or severely damaged.

Also visible from the air over Peek's Creek were large piles of debris and timber. Work crews could be seen trying to clear the main road into the community, which runs off N.C. 28.

Meeting with local officials at the Franklin airport, Easley said he would dip into the state's $250 million rainy day fund to help with costs.

"The message today is that you need to tell us what you need, and we'll get it for you," he said. "We're going to be fine. You will be OK up here, because everyone is pulling together."

Cabe estimated property damage to be at least $1.6 million in Peeks Creek. He said damage totals are still coming in from other areas of the county, which borders Georgia in the southwestern tip of the state.

Rescuers late Thursday night and into Friday morning evacuated about 20 people from the community, Cabe said. Some rescue workers responding to calls for help became trapped by the flooded creek and had to wait with their patients for the water to drop.

He said those rescue workers are trying to find closure.

"We aren't sure when that will be," he said

Cabe also warned Macon County residents to be aware of potential scams and price gouging in connection with people seeking flood-related donations or offering repair work and services. He said such schemes have surfaced in the wake of the tragedy.

"We will deal with those with the harshest of actions," he said. "It will not be tolerated."

The Associated Press contributed to this story

Macon recovering from Ivan

By Candice Cunningham - News editor Franklin Press

A striking blue sky and crystal-clear mountain views have replaced two days of torrential rains and heavy flooding. But it will take more than perfect weather for the county to recover from the devastating scars left by last week's storm.

Recovering from what has been called the worst natural disaster in the county's history will be an expensive and long, drawn-out effort, said Warren Cabe, director of Macon County Emergency Services.

It will take much longer for those who lost loved ones.

Remnants of Hurricane Ivan brought high winds and dumped more than seven inches of rain in the Franklin area Thursday night, washing out roads and bridges, uprooting trees, flooding homes and leaving thousands without electricity.

Four people died.

They included Sharon McCollum, 54, of Franklin, Colton McCollum, 3, of Franklin Kattie Watts, mid-40s, of Pensacola, Fla., and an unborn infant.

Rescue workers on Sunday scoured riverbanks and used dogs to find those still missing from the Peeks Creek community, south of Highlands off U.S. 64 east, which received the most damage, emergency officials said.

Authorities confirmed that three of the four who were missing were OK and had not been in the Peeks Creek area during the storm, Macon County Sheriff Robert Holland said.

That leaves one more unaccounted for.

Authorities said they found human remains. But they are not confirming whether they are from the last missing person.

Storm surge

Macon County began preparing for the storm days before it arrived, fearing the worst yet hoping for the best.

County emergency officials warned that heavy rains brought a week earlier by the remains of Hurricane Frances had left the ground saturated and the county's waterways vulnerable to fast flooding.

People packed their doorways with sandbags, cleared grocery shelves and gassed up their vehicles.

But no amount of preparation could stop the fierce storm.

Macon County emergency displatch was taking calls about flooding by 7 p.m. Thursday, Cabe said.

Evacuations of homes and facilities began around 10 p.m., shifting displaced residents into the makeshift Red Cross shelter at the Cartoogechaye Elementary School in West Macon.

Rescue efforts soon became cumbersome, however, as emergency workers encountered roadways blocked by mudslides, fallen trees and gushing water.

Dispatchers called for all available officers, stretching law enforcement, fire and rescue workers and emergency personnel to their limits. North Carolina National Guard officers and swift-water rescue teams from the region responded to help with evacuations. North Carolina Highway Patrol Officers dispatched more units to the area to help with traffic.

Chaos in Peeks Creek

But one call around 11 p.m. changed the scope of rescue efforts.

That call came from Peeks Creek.

Cullasaja Fire Chief Johnny Teem responded to a report of a man trapped in an overturned trailer on Peeks Creek Road.

When Teem arrived at the scene, he saw homes off their foundations. He saw trailers floating down the creek.

Rescue workers and law enforcement officers rushed to help him, but the relentless rain, calf-deep mud, pitch-black darkness, mounds of debris and high water halted their access to the trapped victims.

"It was chaos," said Holland, whose own family members were among Peeks Creek survivors. "It was the longest night of my life."

The impediments forced rescuers to hike more than a quarter mile over a ridgetop, lugging 800 pounds of heavy equipment, in an attempt to extricate people. They eventually built a road for easier travel.

There were other snags. Their flashlights became dim once batteries got low and their radios got soaked with water, Teem reported.

It took eight hours to remove one victim who was trapped in the rubble, he said. She is in critical condition.

At least four others didn't make it out alive.

At least 10 others, including a 90-year-old woman, escaped with injuries. Four of the injuries are serious. Six are minor. Many people had to be carried out by hand. Rescuers have accounted for most of the community, 25 to 30 people.

Peeks Creek survivors reported hearing the roar of boulders and trees lumbering down the steep slope of Fish Hawk Mountain Thursday night as a rush of mud and water thrust through the cove.

"I've never seen anything like this," Wayne Haire said as he surveyed the damage to his neighborhood Saturday. "I didn't realize it would be anything like this."

Haire and his wife Judy escaped to their basement to wait out the storm. They heard their neighbors yelling but they couldn't see anything in the dark with the rain, he said.

"It sounded like a train coming down through here," he said.

His neighbors, Jimmy and Ann Holland, were sitting by candlelight Thursday night when their Jack Russell Terrier, Fannie, ran into the room barking.

Holland said he went outside to investigate.

"It sounded like a freight train coming toward us," he said.

"It was the awfullest sound I've ever heard."

The Hollands ran outside and lay prone on a bank - the only place they could find quickly.

"We just laid there and hung on," he said.

The couple, forced to stay helpless on the bank, listened in horror as neighbors pleaded for help.

"Those poor people were screaming and hollering," Holland said. "We couldn't get over there. It was awful."

After the storm, the formerly quaint community resembled a war zone as helicopters buzzed the mountain hauling National Guard soldiers clad in camouflage.

A soft breeze carried the smell of leaking propane tanks and freshly cut timber as massive trees were stacked like giant piles of firewood against the crumpled homes.

More than 30 were destroyed in the storm, according to Jennifer Hollifield, a spokeswoman for the Macon County Public Health Center.

Damage estimates are close to $1.6 million, Cabe said.

N.C. Wildlife Resources Officers, rescue workers from Charlotte and Raleigh combed the area, slogging through mud and debris.

The landslide dumped the contents of people's lives, displaying all of their possessions, from books to clothes, in heaps about the wreckage.

The storm ripped the wall off one home, providing a bisected view like that of a life-size dollhouse. Despite its upheaval, picture frames remained intact on the wall.

The disaster drew attention from reporters in nearby cities. They descended upon the scene, interviewing victims and photographing the destruction.

It also drew local politicians, including Sen. Bob Carpenter, R-Macon, Roger West, R-Cherokee, and Rep. Charles Taylor, R-Brevard.

Recovery efforts are continuing, Teem said, as rescuers search the debris foot-by-foot.

"It's an unbelievable mess," he said.

The cause of the devastation in Peeks Creek remains undetermined.

Cabe said a geologist would review the site to determine a cause.

Authorities also have taken flights over the area to survey damage.

The incident couldn't have been predicted, Holland said.

"I would have never thought this could happen," he said.

For now, the community is closed to everyone not involved in rescue efforts.

Authorities beefed-up security after people were reportedly taking souvenirs from the debris and entering homes without permission.

Family members are allowed access to the site on a limited basis.

Other evacuations

Calls of reported flooding and stranded residents came from every corner of the county.

In West Macon, rescuers evacuated 187 nursing home residents at Britthaven of Franklin and transported them to Angel Medical Center. Only days earlier, the nursing home moved in more than 40 residents from Britthaven of Clyde after Frances flooded the facility and destroyed everything they owned.

On Wayah Road, 195 students at the LBJ Job Corps were evacuated after the flooding creek washed away the campus' main access concrete bridge.

Emergency workers evacuated residents at the new Holly Haven apartment complex in Holly Springs after they reported that water was entering their apartments.

Franklin Fire Chief Pete Haithcock said poor storm drainage attributed to the flooding that hit four apartments, costing an estimated $18,500 in damage.

Residents on Wilds Cove Road in Burningtown also were evacuated.

Roads closed during the storm included Highway 106, which travels from Highlands to Georgia, Buck Creek Road, Walnut Creek Road and U.S. 64 East of Highlands.

After the rain

Floodwaters from the Little Tennessee River, Cullasaja River, Cartoogechaye Creek and area streams and creeks began receding late Friday as the storm moved from the area.

While warm sunshine dried up the remaining pools of standing water by Saturday, the telltale signs of the storm are still evident.

A dusty film of brown dirt covers many streets in East Franklin where rivers churning with silt seeped from their beds.

As of Sunday, all roads were passable, Cabe reported. Yet some, including the upper portion of Highlands Road, remained treacherous from washouts.

County officials have yet to access the cost of damages. They said they expect it to be high.

Cabe called it "the worst natural disaster in Macon County history."

Gov. Mike Easley flew into the Macon County Airport on Monday afternoon to meet with local officials and emergency responders. He declared a state of disaster.

President George W. Bush followed suit Sunday. The president's declaration will make victims eligible for federally funded assistance.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is accepting applications from those whose property was damaged by the storm.

County officials closed the Cartoogechaye shelter Saturday night. In its place, they set up a disaster assistance center to be staffed by the Red Cross. The center. for residents with disaster-related needs, is located at the public health center on Lakeside Drive.

Other Red Cross workers arrived Saturday to help families.

Meals and bottled water are being served at First Baptist Church in Franklin.

Hundreds of power company crews worked overtime last weekend restoring power to thousands left in the dark.

An additional 859 workers responded to the area to help Duke Power restore electricity, said Fred Alexander, district manager of Duke Power's Nantahala Area.

As of Monday, Alexander, said, 3,709 customers in Macon County remained without power. That number is miniscule compared to what it was Thursday night.

The storm had caused 175,000 outages in the Carolinas.

The disaster prompted the generous spirit of Macon residents who started funds to help flood victims.

Authorities said they appreciate support from the community, the county and other state and federal agencies in recovery efforts.

"We've had an unbelievable response for help," Teem said.

Offers for assistance have come from as far as Washington state, he added.

Photo from the Franklin Press.

Photos and article above are from The Franklin Press. www.thefranklinpress.com

On Sept 16, 2004 Hurricane Ivan came through Western North Carolina after devastating parts of Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Louisiana. I was working that night watching all the rain comedown and all the winds blow what ever was in it's way. The next morning I drove around Franklin and took a few pictures. The town had to close access to half of Franklin due to high water. In this awful storm there were at least 4 killed when one mud slide took out at least 30 homes. There are some homes completely cut off from the town when the only roads that gave access were washed out and are now gone. Emergency crews are having to rebuild roads so rescuers can go in and check on the homeowners. Many were evacuated by the local fire departments and other emergency personnel that came in as far away as Fayetteville, Charlotte, and Raleigh, NC. One such unit was the Hope Mills Fire and Swift Water Rescue Team. Estimated 200 Power Crews were brought in to Macon County to restore power to the thousands that lost power due to the storm. Duke Power said that there has not been a storm this devastating since the Blizzard of 1993. Just driving around Macon County you can see that this storm still had a lot of power behind it. All over Franklin you see trees down, large parts of earth moved. It is truly devastating.

From Channel 13 WLOS TV Asheville, NC website www.wlos.com

Macon County Search Continues
An entire mountainside comes crashing down in Macon county.. killing at least four people.

Officials say two women in their fifties.. a boy.. and an unborn child died in this natural disaster.

Residents who survived the devastation say it sounded like, quote, "a hundred freight trains coming down".

At least 30 homes are destroyed.

Many who escaped worry about those they haven't heard from.

Crews will return to the scene Saturday to continue search efforts.

Emergency responders say they have no idea how many people may've been home at the time.

They speculate a cloud burst caused the sudden rush of water.. and caused the ground to give-way.

The following is from the Asheville Citizen-Times Sunday Sept 19, 2004

Four deaths are confirmed, unknown number are missing in Macon cove

By , Reporter

Sept. 18, 2004 11:59 p.m.

PEEKS CREEK - The people who live in the Peeks Creek community call it a peaceful place, where before it turned against them was a holler home to both summer residents and generations of old Macon County families.

In the most horrible demonstration of Tropical Storm Ivan's destruction in Western North Carolina, a devastating wave of mud, water, trees and boulders hurled Peeks Creek homes from their foundations late Thursday, leaving people dead and missing and an unrecognizable swath of ravaged homes in its path.

Residents of the cove and others from Macon County, some who traveled to the restricted site by four-wheeler through mountain trails, found it difficult to believe that the scene before them only days before had been tidy lawns and well-tended homes of a friendly group of neighbors.

"There used to be a house right here," resident Virginia Dills said, pointing to a spot that showed no evidence of a home, only a massive tangle of trees, mud and rock.

"Everybody kept their place up," Dills said. "It was beautiful."

Dills' own home stands unharmed about halfway up the cove and 50 yards from the swath's edge. Her husband, Isaac Dills, grew up in the cove and has extended family there. Virginia Dills said her husband's grown nephew and his wife, who had come with other family members from the Pensacola, Fla., area to escape Ivan, were in a home that was swept away in the onslaught. Dills said she believes they were killed, though county officials have not confirmed that.

Macon County has attributed four deaths to what Warren Cabe, the county's director of emergency management services, on Saturday called "the worst natural disaster in Macon County history." The flooding killed two women in their 50s, a 3-year-old boy and an unborn child of 28 weeks gestation, whose mother survived and is in critical condition.

Saturday morning Dills walked with her granddaughter and documented the scene with a small camera.

"This is really a tragic thing," she said.

Rescue efforts continue

On Saturday, more than 300 rescue workers, including units from Charlotte and Raleigh, used backhoes and bulldozers to remove entire trees from atop flattened homes as a search for an undetermined number of missing people continued.

The county estimates 20 to 30 homes were destroyed. In addition to the four deaths, 10 people were injured and 10 were evacuated, Cabe said. Injuries included minor things like scrapes and bruises to more serious injuries resulting from being pinned beneath debris.

The area was restricted but visitors included U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor, R-Brevard.

Cabe called the rescue effort massive and said the county will feel the disaster's effects for months.

What happened?

In Macon County, where phones are out, roads are closed and many are without power, talk has swirled about the disaster.

Residents have called the event a debris avalanche. They've spoken of a weather phenomenon called a microburst that pulls heavy winds from high in the atmosphere to the earth's surface. They've speculated about tornadoes and possible dam or pond breaks.

Cabe dispelled some of that Saturday, saying there was no evidence that a pond, dam or private storage tanks broke further up the cove to contribute to the deadly wave.

There's no evidence "that a breach would have caused this much damage," Cabe said.

He also said the destruction doesn't match what a tornado would leave.

Parts of Macon County got 2 to 7 inches of rain from Tropical Storm Ivan. Western North Carolina experienced sustained winds of 30-40 mph but some as high as 60 mph also were recorded, according to the National Weather Service.

Going on two days after the event, it remains difficult to piece together the night's events. Residents at the scene Saturday described them as terrifying.

Dills spent the night of the storm in her basement, listening to huge boulders roll past her home, describing the sounds as a loud, persistent rumble.

She didn't know of anyone who evacuated their home before the disaster hit.

"It happened so fast you didn't have time," she said.

Debris blocked routes to the area and emergency personnel had to cut a new road. Residents told of going outside through the night to try to help but the weather and terrain made efforts difficult.

Mark Bell, 36, a lifelong resident of Franklin, helped remove debris with a track hoe at Peeks Creek early Friday morning.

"We got up about half a mile into there and there was just no road left," he said.

Injuries included a woman trapped behind her house and a man with two broken legs, he said.

The scene "was like something you've only seen on television," he said. "You had to be there."

Staff writer Tyler Norris Goode contributed to this report.

Contact Ingram at 828-232-5864 or JIngram@CITIZEN-TIMES.com.

photo: Steve Dixon

A pair of military helicopters fly over the Peeks Creek community Saturday, Sept 18, 2004 as recovery begins for the area devastated by flooding from hurricane Ivan. photo: Steve Dixon

Julie Tastinger holds a photo of what the community looked like before the flood in the Peeks Creek community Saturday, Sept 18, 2004 as recovery begins for the area devastated by flooding from hurricane Ivan. photo: Steve Dixon

Piles of debris dwarf two women standing beside the creek in the Peeks Creek community Saturday, Sept 18, 2004 as recovery begins for the area devastated by flooding from hurricane Ivan. photo: Steve Dixon

People walk around a heavily damaged house in the Peeks Creek community Saturday, Sept 18, 2004 as recovery begins for the area devastated by flooding from hurricane Ivan. photo: Steve Dixon

People look over the wreckage of two houses that were pushed together in the Peeks Creek community Saturday, Sept 18, 2004 as recovery begins for the area devastated by flooding from hurricane Ivan. photo: Steve Dixon

Heavy equipment works in the newly carved creekbed in the Peeks Creek community Saturday, Sept 18, 2004 as recovery begins for the area devastated by flooding from hurricane Ivan. photo: Steve Dixon

Volunteers from the North Carolina Baptist Men Disaster Recovery organization help remove personal items from the home of Wayne and Marilyn Jones Sunday, Sept 19, 2004. The home was washed off its foundation, but most of the items inside were undamaged. photo: Steve Dixon

Volunteers from the North Carolina Baptist Men Disaster Recovery organization take a break after helping remove personal items from the home of Wayne and Marilyn Jones Sunday, Sept 19, 2004. The home was washed off its foundation, but most of the items inside were undamaged. photo: Steve Dixon

All the information and photos above are from the Asheville Citizen-Times www.citizen-times.com

by Bruce Harwood

Here you can see where all the destruction of Peeks Creek started.

by Dwayne Phillips

Photos by Adam Drake

Mud Slides on the Highlands Road. Hwy 64

Photos by Faith Reitmeier

Macon County Fairgrounds.

Photos by Lee Cloer

One brick from someone's home.

Photos by Marcus Land

Pure Destruction

Photos by Marcus Land

Rescue Crews came to Macon County's aid from all across the state. Here is Cherokee County (Murphy, NC)

Photos by Marcus Land

From Raleigh, NC

Photos by Marcus Land

Even the Red Cross was here.

Photos by Marcus Land

From Charlotte, NC

Photos by Marcus Land

The Highlands Damn At Mirror Lake.

Photos by Marcus Land

The Cullisaja River

Photos by Marcus Land

Propane Tank from someone's yard

Photos by Marcus Land

Of course the News Crews were here.

Photos by Marcus Land

More rescuers from Hope Mills, NC near Fayetteville, NC

Photos by Marcus Land

Police had roads closed off all over the county. Here is Depot St. near Hot Spot.

Photos by Marcus Land

Wells Grove Road going toward Macon Middle School.

Photos by Marcus Land

Here is the Rec Park

Photos by Marcus Land

Old town bridge

Photos by Marcus Land

Town streets closed off from traffic because of High Water

Photos by Marcus Land

Baseball Fields

Photos By: Unknown

Peeks Creek

Photos By: Unknown

Where the Mud Slide Started

Photos By: Unknown

Rec Park

Photos By: Unknown

Peeks Creek (Mudslide started in the red circle)

Photos By: Unknown

This washout on the Buck Creek Road is typical of damages faced by the DOT in recovering from Ivan. Officials are busy this week calculating the cost to multiple facets of the economy, from infrastructure like roads and power lines to losses by individuals and corporations. Photo by Andrea Tallent

Photos From the Macon County News and Shopping Guide www.maconnews.com

Here is the Highlands Road going in to Franklin being closed off by the Town of Franklin.

Photo By Carl Golden

The water you see here is at least 5 feet deep covering what was a cow field.

Photo By Carl Golden

Here you can see business owners moving out as the water is moving in.

Photo By Carl Golden

Here you can see the Town bridges with the water right below. Normally the water is 7-10 below the bridges but here it is just inches.

Photo By Carl Golden

Here is another shot of the same bridges.

Photo By Carl Golden

Here you see the road just disappear into the water as the river has over run it's banks.

Photo By Carl Golden

More roads closed off due to the water going where ever it wants.

Photo By Carl Golden

Here is another field now turned into a lake near the Greenway parking.

Photo By Carl Golden

This bridge is on the back entrance to town with the water more than 5 feet higher than normal.

Photo By Carl Golden

Here is one of the Greenway Bridges that crosses over the Little Tennessee River. Well it is not so little today.

Photo By Carl Golden

Here you can see some of the National Guard vehicles that were sent out to help with this disaster.

Photo By Carl Golden

Here is the parking lot of the hotel I work for as it looks more like a power company staging area. Some 200 Extra power crews are in Franklin alone to restore power to all those who are in the dark tonight.

Photo By Carl Golden