Hurricane Helene made landfall as a category 4 storm in Florida, but its towns across Western

North Carolina, hundreds of miles from the coast, and thousands of feet above sea level

that have seen some of the worst destruction. of

the feet above sea level that have seen some of the worst destruction.

Communities once considered climate havens are now facing a harsh reality.

There may be no such thing.

William Bringham joins us now with more, William.

That's right, Jeff.

Ashville, which is temperate, inland, nestled up in the hills with lots of fresh water,

often ranks high on lists of so-called climate safe cities, but experts are

skeptical of the idea that any community is truly out of reach of the impacts of

climate change. This storm has driven that point home in the worst way possible.

To discuss how a warming world impacts us all and what individuals and communities can do about it,

we are joined by climate expert Alex Stephan. He writes the

newsletter the snap forward. Alex Stephan, so good to have you on the news hour.

I mean as I mentioned Asheville for years has had this reputation as a haven a place you could go to live a safe life in the woods and in the hills

insulated in some way from from climate change what does this storm tell us about that conceit?

Well, I think it tells us three things. First, I think it tells us that nowhere is totally

safe. And second, I think it tells us that while there are places that are relatively safe compared to others, even those relatively safe places can have a tragic disaster.

And that means the third thing that we all have to be thinking in our own lives in our own communities

about how we're going to prepare for what's coming and ensure that we have the best chances.

As you mentioned, some places are more resilient than others and potentially more protected than others.

...