Zoe Dadian’s front yard became a front line when the remnants of Hurricane Helene caused catastrophic flooding in her community of Swannanoa, North Carolina.
“It’s just like a horror show, just standing there on solid ground while full houses floated by with people sitting on top, like screaming for their lives,” Dadian said.
When the floodwaters receded, neighbors started talking about the warnings that came before.
Severe weather watches and warnings are sent by the National Weather Service, but evacuation orders come from local authorities.
Many use the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System — or IPAWS — which pushes messages to cellphones, TVs and radios in disaster-impacted areas.
Buncombe County, where Dadian lives, sent a mandatory evacuation order out through IPAWS at 6:15 a.m. on Sept. 27.
She said the alert didn’t show up on her phone until hours later — at 1 p.m.
“And at that point, the landslide …