Hot Springs Ready

Rebuilding after a flood in North Carolina has a shape worth knowing before you live it: what to photograph before you clean, and the 50 percent rule that decides repair or elevation.

Two paved routes out of town, one gravel road that should be considered closed whenever the river is up, and the twelve inches of water that carries away most cars.

The water heater, the panel, the propane tank, the crawlspace vents. The work that protects a home from flood damage happens on your schedule, in a dry month, and nobody else gets a vote.

Alerts on your phone stop arriving the moment the tower loses power. The backup layer that keeps working: NOAA Weather Radio, the right frequency for our gorge, and the county code to program.

The slopes most likely to fail are often the ones somebody built. What a cut bank or a fill pad does to your risk, the warning signs to learn, and the insurance gap nobody expects.

Twelve inches of rushing water carries off a car. Six inches on foot knocks an adult over. What to know before a flash flood warning arrives, so you’re not reading while the water rises.

The French Broad has shaped this town for longer than recorded history. Here’s how to read the real-time river gauge, and why past floods don’t predict the next one.

From a cat carrier to a fencing repair kit, animals need their own emergency plan. Here’s what belongs in a kit for pets, and a different plan for livestock.

A road closure or power outage can turn a routine prescription into a crisis. Here’s how to build a medication kit and the North Carolina rule that can help in a pinch.