General Discussion

I lived in North Carolina at the time but inland near the Charlotte area. There was no internet or cell phones and the technology to predict how a hurricane would move wasn't as sophisticated. The night it hit I watched the 11 o'clock news/weather report and there was no indication that it would affect the Charlotte area outside of high winds and rain. The power went out at 3:30 AM and the horrendous sound of the wind woke me up. The noise was incredible yet it was pitch black because it was nighttime and the power was out all over the city. It wasn't until daylight broke that I could even tell what had been happening outside my door. To say the experience was jolting is an understatement.

We were on the outskirts of the city so we were without power for a little over two weeks. There was no going anywhere because our entire street was blocked with downed power lines, trees, telephone poles. The entire one side of the house was plastered with tiny pieces of tree leaves. I lived in a house on almost an acre wooded lot and we lost about ten trees but fortunately none fell on our house. Down the street from me a baby was killed in her crib when a tree fell on the house and went through the roof into the bedroom where the baby was. It haunts me to this day.