The electronic music and music tech communities clustered around Asheville and across the southeastern USA have been hit hard by Hurricane Helene. There’s not much to report, especially with data and power being restored. But I hope we can send care and support, especially with makers like Moog, Make Noise, and others deeply impacted with their employees, friends, and families. Alarmingly, this comes on the heels of devastating historic floods in Poland, Austria, Czechia, Romania, and surroundings, as severe flooding becomes more commonplace.
Hurricane Helene cut a brutal path over the past few days across the Big Bend of Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and other parts of the southeastern United States. The federal government has recently declared an emergency for North Carolina, which got slammed with Helene at category 4 strength before the storm system produced unprecedented flooding, landlides, and associated damage across the western portion of the state:
Rapid Reaction: Historic Flooding Follows Helene in Western NC [NC State University / State Climate Office]
I’m relieved to have gotten check-ins from Tony Rolando (Make Noise), Geert Bevin (Moog Music), Chris Stack (in South Carolina), and veteran editor Geary Yelton (Electronic Musician, Synth and Sound). I know many other friends and colleagues are still dealing with storm impacts, and with widespread tree damage and power and communications outlets, are in limited communication. That’s the worst feeling, and I dearly hope all your loved ones are okay.
I also know CDM readers and our community of makers and electronic musicians share a deep concern and curiosity about the climate and environment. There is no doubt that climate catastrophe is hitting all of our personal lives. Nowhere on Earth is safe, from the artists and friends I love and care about in Indonesia and the Phillippines to parts of Germany where I live now. Poland, Czechia, Austria, Romania, and surroundings were just hit hard with their own storm system – death counts are still rising as news is updated in the past few days. To say this is a planetary crisis is a massive understatement. (Fortunately, I had already talked to makers in those locations, and they were all high and dry – even as they had serious concern about neighbors across the country. Asheville in this case is right at the heart of some of the worst impacts.)
Let us know how you’re doing. If there are stories or resources to share or ways to help, don’t hesitate to let us know. And I hope as electronic musicians, we have the unique skills to pull together science and emotion and find ways of telling the story of what’s happening with the climate – and how to respond.
Pictured: Satellite imagery of Tropical Storm Helene over the Carolinas on Friday, September 27 at 8:00 am. (Image by NOAA/GOES East).