Latest news with #BatCave
Fox News
3 days ago
- Climate
- Fox News
Woman makes 'miracle' discovery in debris 7 months after surviving Hurricane Helene with boyfriend
Nearly a year after a deadly landslide destroyed her mountain home rental during Hurricane Helene, Kylie Landolfi of North Carolina made a surprising discovery. The 22-year-old found her lost iPhone buried in rubble near the ruins of her home in Bat Cave. She had been living there with her boyfriend, Andrew, 23, when the storm triggered a landslide in Sept. 2024. The couple's house was pushed off its foundation, forcing them to flee with their three pets, news agency SWNS reported. They escaped just moments before disaster struck again. The ground gave way a second time, sending more debris crashing down the mountainside. "We escaped the rubble just seconds before a second landslide hit," said Landolfi. She added, "With no shoes, phones or supplies, we were exposed and hit by dirt and debris." The couple survived with minimal injuries, per SWNS. "We cared for an injured neighbor with a punctured lung and helped rescue a family of four trapped near the slide zone," said Landolfi, "including a mother with a shattered ankle and a child with a broken leg." "We escaped the rubble just seconds before a second landslide hit." Landolfi and her boyfriend sheltered in a nearby home for 27 hours before firefighters arrived. They spent that time helping to care for seriously injured neighbors, SWNS noted. The couple said they relied on instinct and teamwork to stay safe. Landolfi said she'd returned to the site several times but had been unable to recover any belongings. In April 2025, Bat Cave Disaster Relief helped her access the area for another search. That's when she made a wild discovery. For more Lifestyle articles, visit "While digging through rubble, I found my iPhone dusty but seemingly intact," she said. "We had lost almost every photo of our ferrets and the home we loved and almost every picture of our ferrets that did not escape," she said. "The phone's discovery felt like a miracle … I could not believe it." The phone appeared intact, said SWNS, even though it had been buried for seven months, surviving landslides and harsh outdoor conditions. "It even took me a second to realize how crazy it was to be holding my phone that survived two landslides and seven months outside," she said. "We never imagined we would find either phone and had grieved the loss of the contents already." "The phone's discovery felt like a miracle." Many of the couple's most cherished memories, they said, were stored only on that device. "For those wondering, no, we had not updated our iCloud storage," she said, as SWNS reported. "We had a hard drive that everything was on, but when your whole house is destroyed, having a hard drive in the same place as your phones does not help."
Arabian Business
21-03-2025
- Business
- Arabian Business
Arada brings Australia's cult coffee brand The Reformatory Lab to UAE, eyeing 10 outlets in 3 years
UAE-based multi-business group Arada is set to bring a caffeine revolution to the UAE through the launch of the popular Australian concept The Reformatory Lab. The move also marks the expansion of the master developer's portfolio of consumer-facing brands. The Reformatory Lab was founded by fourth-generation Colombian coffee farmer and comic book fan Simon Jaramillo, who made his dream to open the 'Bat Cave' of coffee shops come true in an old garage in Sydney, Australia. The Reformatory Lab opens in Dubai Coming to Dubai for the first time, The Reformatory Lab's launch outlet has now opened at Arada's W Residences sales centre in Dubai Harbour. Arada said it is currently working to identify further locations in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi in the medium term, with the aim to open 10 outlets over the next three years, alongside a central roastery in Dubai. Ahmed Alkhoshaibi, Group CEO of Arada, said The Reformatory Lab answers the need for an elevated coffee experience in the UAE. 'Building on the brand's success in Australia, our goal is to make The Reformatory Lab the go-to location for coffee lovers locally, adding new venues to all of the major cities of the UAE before expanding internationally,' he said. Simon Jaramillo, General Manager of The Reformatory Lab, said with unexpected flavours, unique origins and an amazing atmosphere, The Reformatory Lab aims to revolutionise the coffee scene in the UAE. 'We will show how – in a world of mediocrity – the simple pleasure of a stellar cup can direct everyone's day towards greatness. 'We're determined to fight against subpar tastes and aromas, embracing the spirit of exceptional coffee and committing to our ongoing exploration into new flavours and experiences,' he said. Unique coffee flavours With coffees from Colombia, India, Indonesia, Costa Rica, Panama, Ethiopia, Kenya, Burundi, El Salvador, Java and Brazil, the popular Australian coffee brand's blends are highly graded and combine five different processes. The Reformatory Lab's expertise extends beyond coffee with customers able to look forward to a daily selection of baked treats and snacks, all made with the same precision and attention to detail typical of the finest dining restaurants. The addition of the central roastery will allow The Reformatory Lab to provide bespoke blends to businesses both in the UAE and regionally. The arrival of the Australian coffee brand adds to Arada's existing portfolio of complementary brands, which includes fast-growing fitness operators Wellfit, FitnGlam, FITCODE and The Platform Studios; healthy F&B concepts Boost Juice and Hungry Wolves, popular food truck destination Zad and many more.
