"It destroyed the village," O'Leary said. "It took away the old Chimney Rock." Thousands of visitors visit the mountain town on a typical summer day, but damage left behind by Helene blocked ...

Like many of those mountain towns, Chimney Rock was overwhelmed by historic flooding which tore through the region. As Helene blew through — bringing with it once-in-a-thousand-year rains ...

When the September storm hit Western North Carolina, infrastructure in towns such as Chimney Rock was pummeled, with homes and businesses alike in utter disrepair.  The hurricane displaced more ...