A Year After Hurricane Helene, Recovery Is Slow but Community TightA Year After Hurricane Helene, Recovery Is Slow but Community Tight
Areas damaged by Hurricane Helene a year prior, in North Carolina on Sept. 17, 2025. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times
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A Year After Hurricane Helene, Recovery Is Slow but Community Tight

North Carolina’s Yancey County received 31 inches of rain and wind gusts topping 105 miles per hour—more than any other county in the state.
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By Darlene McCormick Sanchez
Updated:

GREEN MOUNTAIN, N.C.—The fresh scent of rain lingers along a winding road through the Appalachian Mountains, leading to Double Island, one of the communities hit hardest by Hurricane Helene.

This scenic corner of western North Carolina—dotted with rustic red barns adorned with hex signs, sweeping cornfields, and country roads with names like Possum Trot and Pig Pen—faced a brutal challenge from the hurricane but emerged even stronger.

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