A large portion of western North Carolina is underwater while Hurricane Helene continues to hover over the region. App State was forced to cancel its college football game against Liberty as a result of the catastrophe.
However, Flames quarterback Kaidon Salter does not seem to grasp the severity of the situation and he is not alone.
Boone is currently reeling from the town’s worst flooding since at least 1940. Aerial footage of the damage shows a heartbreaking situation. Many businesses, cars and houses are flooded with no less than three feet of water.
Absolutely heartbreaking footage from my college town of Boone, NC.
— Andrew Gibson (@1010XLAG) September 27, 2024
It’s so tough to see a place you know so well and love so much get devastated like this.
Worst flooding since at least 1940, per @wxbrad.
Praying hard for my Boone people.
Video courtesy of @NelsonAerials. pic.twitter.com/xEr5bGExFz
King Street, the most prominent thoroughfare in the medium-sized mountain town, was already dealing with unprecedented flooding on early Friday morning. It is only expected to get worse over the next 24/48 hours.
Holy cow, this is King Street in downtown Boone, I have never seen this before. #wncwx #ncwx #flood #Helene pic.twitter.com/IKVIsRUvBZ
— Brad Panovich (@wxbrad) September 27, 2024
Many roads have become rivers.
Downtown Boone is getting hit hard with flooding. Road barely viable! @wcnc pic.twitter.com/BKOZlWrqq9
— Myles Harris (@MylesHarrisTV) September 27, 2024
Others are collapsing.
🚨 Stay away from Wilsons Ridge Road near Bamboo Road in East Boone, NC.
— AWN – Appalachian Weekly News (@AppWeeklyNews) September 27, 2024
The roadway is collapsing due to the intense amount of rain in the region. pic.twitter.com/z0ChMRE8Hr
Boone sits at 3,333 feet of elevation, so this level of flooding is extremely rare. Infrastructure is not strong enough to withstand a natural disaster of this magnitude and that applies to the surrounding area as well. The vast majority of roadways in western North Carolina are undrivable.
It is nearly impossible to get in or out of Boone. It is not safe once there.
Thus, App State and Liberty agreed to cancel their football game scheduled for Saturday.
There might’ve been an opportunity to reschedule the contest to mid-October when both teams have a bye week. That did not happen.
The Mountaineers are out of College Football Playoff contention and its conference schedule is the only thing that matters. Saturday’s game is not a conference game. They have no reason to reschedule.
Salter, the starting quarterback for the Flames, thinks it was a cowardly move not to move the game to a later date. He implied that App State is ducking Liberty.
His teammate, running back Quinton Cooley, said the Mountaineers are scared.
Cooley and Salter might be frustrated with the decision not to reschedule. They might not be upset with the circumstances of this weekend. They might be oblivious to their optics of their posts.
Regardless of circumstance, to make such public accusations while hundreds of people across North Carolina are dealing with tragedy is as tone deaf and insensitive as it gets. That should not be the focus right now.