Hurricane Irene

After coming ashore near Gulf Shores, Alabama, it went up to Virginia, then back down through southeast Florida, returning into the U.S. Gulf and to Texas.

In 2011, Hurricane Irene sent cars bobbing down rivers, swept away covered bridges, put millions in the dark, and killed dozens of people.

It made landfall along the North Carolina coast, then veered north along a densely populated corridor.

New York City took a direct hit, but the heaviest rains were further inland.

We know that hurricane projections have failed in the past.

You look at Hurricane Irene from two years ago.

It was projected to be a Category 1 in Columbus.

It wasn't a Category 1 in Columbus.

You know, I started in the business in New York in 1986.

And I've been through Hurricane Sandy, Hurricane Irene, 9-11, plenty of all the crazy stuff.

And what I feel is our first responders and our firefighters operate and train around systems developed here in the United States.

And, you know, they...

Once later, though, fast forward, I think it was probably six, eight months later, Cisco partnered with Eric Church and his Chief Carriers Foundation and Clayton Homes to build over 100 homes.

for families that were impacted by Hurricane Eileen in Western North Carolina.

So it was kind of a good care, good will effort on our side with partnering with Eric Church and again, Clayton Holmes.

Brad, going back to the ERC team, they were personally impacted by the storm.

He's right down there in downtown.

Call him up.

Brad, I really want to thank you for the conversation today on Hurricane Eileen, the impact of Western North Carolina, and how ERC broadband responded to the disaster, as well as your perspectives on AI.

This has been Beyond the Fiber.

And there was no shortage of big stories.

We were there as Hurricanes Irene and Sandy battered New Jersey.

In the house, it's four feet and more, so it's bad.

documenting the devastation and the long road to recovery.

I, uh, especially, you know, I, I had...

When I was a kid, we had Hurricane Irene, and then we had Sandy I think either the next year, maybe they were two years apart.

Two years, yeah.

And, uh, and, uh, they both hit right when school was going to start, so I didn't have school for like, 'cause there was no power or electricity for that whole-

Well, you know, it really is.

I learned the principle too when we lived in New Jersey and we were, this has been, I don't remember which Irene, Hurricane Irene.

I don't remember.

But we had three generators, the portable generators.

It really is.

I learned the principle too when we lived in New Jersey and we were, this has been, I don't remember which Irene, Hurricane Irene.

I don't remember, but we had three generators, the portable generators.

We had three of them.

I mean, you know, markets, I don't know, you have weather, right? And you can't predict when the weather is going to happen.

I'd say what wasn't lucky is the year we almost got the profitability was 2012 and Hurricane Irene had hit New York the year before.

I was living in New York City at the time.

My wife is seven months pregnant in Hurricane...