Straight Talk

Emergency Response director reflects on challenges realized during Helene

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Warren Cabe

I encourage people to make the normal preparations for any severe weather event such as having an available supply of non-perishable water and food and a reliable heat source. Maintaining an adequate supply of prescription medications and associated medical supplies that you would normally require is also a necessity. A good source of information is the www.ready.gov webpage and there is a link to that on the www.maconnc.org webpage.

I think this event also challenged us in ways we have not been challenged recently as cash was often the only option for making purchases due to communication outages. Businesses could not process electronic payments and many people just don’t carry cash. We don’t want to encourage people to have a large amount of cash at home but it became apparent that maintaining even a small emergency supply of cash can be very helpful when needed.

The communication crisis also emphasized how dependent we are on cellular phones and other electronic means of communications. We received numerous requests for welfare checks on individuals here in Macon County from out-of-town concerned friends or relatives simply because they just could not communicate with each other. Many people that live here do not have a circle of friends or family locally that can check on each other occasionally or help each other as needed, and we have become accustomed to instantaneous communications at almost any time and when that is not available it becomes a significant challenge.

Supply chain issues, whether with the actual production of goods, the ability to order goods, or the transportation of goods, has been an issue for probably four years now. I think we as a society have adjusted somewhat to that new reality, but we sometimes still get complacent when it comes to forward thinking and planning ahead as much as possible. We do need to realize that, just as with our communications, sometimes even the necessities we need are just not available as quickly as they once were.

Warren Cabe is the Macon County Emergency Response Director and the Interim County Manager