When Hurricane Helene hit western North Carolina in 2024, a rural mountain couple spent 37 days depending entirely on generator power, including an 80-hour stretch when they were cut off from the outside world.
From that experience, they came away believing backup power should be a top spending priority.
Here’s what to know
The homeowner, a 58-year-old, and her husband, 62, said on Reddit that their home north of Asheville was flooded about six inches, and their road was destroyed. They also had “no contact with the outside world” for 80 hours.
Keeping the household functional required both power equipment and basic supplies. The couple said flashlights and rechargeable lighting were crucial, along with heavy-duty extension cords and a generator setup that began with a 3,500-watt unit and later expanded to an 11,000-watt model connected to the breaker box. They also singled out a waterproof document case and the cleanup gear needed to handle mud on the floor…