CHIMNEY ROCK, N.C.—North Carolina officials estimate that it will take many years, many hands, and up to $60 billion to recover from the widespread devastation caused by Hurricane Helene in late September 2024.
In the historic village of Chimney Rock, located in the western part of the state, a dedicated army of volunteers has been providing much-needed assistance to the recovery effort at no cost.
“It hasn’t required much funding,” Shane Zoccole, founder and director of the South Carolina-based disaster relief nonprofit Spokes of Hope, said.
Zoccole told The Epoch Times that the recovery effort in Chimney Rock is primarily driven by volunteers.
“Chimney Rock is essential to the valley—it’s the commerce of this area,“ he said. ”We felt led to help the businesses, to help the people here, and to get this town to stay on the map instead of going off the map.”
Since October 2024, Zoccole has led more than 2,000 volunteers from various nonprofits willing to help without compensation.
Among the volunteers are hundreds of Amish and Mennonite people from Ohio and Pennsylvania who are ready to go the distance, he said.
“We eat breakfast by 8 a.m., work orders go out, we’re working by 8:30, and then we work until just about 6 p.m., when dinner is served,” Zoccole said.
“It’s been all the moving parts connecting with local business owners and volunteers across the nation.”
He said it has been a collaborative effort since the hurricane made a lasting impact on the landscape eight months ago.
However, that was dwarfed by the destruction caused by Hurricane Helene, he said.
Much of Chimney Rock, a village in western North Carolina’s Hickory Nut Gorge on the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains, was either damaged, destroyed, or buried under several feet of mud.
The bridge over the Rocky Broad River, leading to the state park near the village, collapsed in the rising floodwaters, which reached a height of 20 feet.
The ferocious wind, powerful currents, and heavy rain swept away several businesses along the river. All that remained were the concrete foundations.
Near the Bat Cave residential area, a ticket booth remained on its side, while the stately homes further upriver lay in ruins or exhibited heavy damage. Many homes that survived the torrent were no longer safe for habitation.
“Still here, still standing,” read a sign on a house that remained livable.
Confronted with such devastation, Zoccole’s initial reaction was that using a bulldozer to clear the wreckage would be a more effective solution than implementing a reconstruction plan for the village.
Nonetheless, Zoccole and his relief volunteers refused to give up on the community.
“We have to go to the finish,” he said.
“If we don’t finish something that we’ve started, then we’ve [basically] told these people we’re only here part-time for you. We’re only here to help you a little bit.”
Members of the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division arrived in early October 2024, armed with buckets and shovels to clear the knee-deep mud and allow other volunteers to begin repairs.
By early May, volunteers had removed tons of silt and debris from the water-damaged shops. They rebuilt several of them to code using donated and repurposed materials and equipment.
Although many shops remain closed for repairs, Chimney Rock Village no longer bears the worst scars from the hurricane.
Zoccole noted that considerable work remains, as the village business center plans to reopen this summer, possibly in June.
A Storm Like No Other
Chimney Rock Village, located in Rutherford County, has a rural population of about 140 residents. It is one of the 39 counties in North Carolina designated as a critical disaster area following Hurricane Helene.The hurricane struck Florida with winds of 140 mph on Sept. 26, 2024, before moving into North Carolina the next morning and causing severe rain, flooding, and deadly landslides across much of the western third of the state.
In certain regions, rainfall accumulation reached as much as 30 inches. The storm caused damage to, or destroyed, more than 73,000 homes, roads, and bridges across 6,900 sites, including the heavily trafficked Interstate 40.
One resident of Chimney Rock Village lost her life during the storm, which was deemed the worst since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
The report estimates the storm’s total economic impact at more than $16 billion, which includes $3 billion in direct damages to businesses, and more than $12 billion in lost revenue, excluding wages and income.
Then-North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper requested $3.9 billion from the General Assembly to support struggling communities. Of this total, $1.2 billion has already been allocated, with an additional $225 million set aside in reserve.
‘Nothing but Mud’
Erica Stafford, 40, is the head chef and kitchen manager at Lured Market and Grill near Lake Lure and Chimney Rock.She said she has witnessed powerful storms and the death and economic havoc they leave behind, but Helene seemed to be far worse.
“Nobody expected it to be what it was,” Stafford said. “Even living here, I thought, ‘Well, there’ll be some flooding. We’re going to have a tree down. We’re going to be out of power.’ Nobody expected the amount of damage done.
“It was such a mess. I got down here, and it was nothing but mud.”
The market restaurant, located about three miles from the village, was a hub for distributing emergency supplies and meals after the storm.
“The amount of outreach from people outside our community has been astounding,” Stafford told The Epoch Times.
“We were worried that people wouldn’t show up, and then it got to a point where we were probably feeding about 500 people a day.”
The restaurant reopened in early November 2024 after being closed for several months.
Chimney Rock Village Mayor Peter O'Leary characterized Hurricane Helene as a “perfect storm”—a combination of devastating winds and pounding rain that created a “wall of water” and mud cascading down the Rocky Broad River into the village.
“Now, you’ve got to understand, the [river] is already as high as we have seen it. And then on top of that, there was a 20-foot wall of water,” O'Leary recalled.
“That’s how they described it. It just came down and swept through town. And it came—literally, it swept every one of these buildings away. It went down Main Street. That’s when all these buildings got the debris and everything.”
Standing on a vacant cement foundation on Main Street, O'Leary said: “This was three storefronts, I think. This was the patio out front. The store was right here.”
Chimney Rock Village experienced other significant losses that day—five bridges, 15 businesses, approximately 30 percent of the retail community, and 30 homes from the village center to Bat Cave.
“They were all washed away,” O‘Leary said. He is the the owner of Bubba O’Leary’s General Store, which has been in business for 33 years.
Death in the Floodwaters
“We were very fortunate. We only lost one person,” he said. “They tried to evacuate her, and she refused. She wanted to stay in her home. So we did everything we could to tell her to leave, but she felt like she could ride the flood out.“Unfortunately, her home was destroyed.”
The mayor said all businesses sustained damage, although some more severely than others; all employees and business owners were out of work.
“We’ve been shut down since the flood. We are making plans and working as hard as possible to reopen, and we hope to be open this summer. I won’t say which date,” O'Leary said.
“It’s devastating in that we lost a lot, but we also lost our livelihoods. We’re trying hard to get reopened, but it’s, you know, it’s just everybody. I’m in the same boat.”
Village officials are optimistic that a temporary bridge under construction at Chimney Rock State Park will be ready in time for the reopening of the village center and the expected influx of tourists.
“We’re small [because] we only have about 125 residents who live here year-round. But on a busy summer day, you could easily have 10,000 people in town because it was a destination spot. Chimney Rock State Park has over 400,000 visitors a year,” O'Leary said.
On May 6, most volunteers had left for the week, but a few remained to continue the rebuilding efforts using hammers, saws, nail guns, and heavy road equipment.
Many storefronts are in the final stages of reconstruction, with some featuring new facades, interiors, countertops, fixtures, laminate flooring, walls, insulation, ceilings, and support beams.
O'Leary said that the scene was quite different eight months ago.
“Right here, on Main Street, that store had the most water in it,” he said.
“It was the first one, and it had five feet of water, and six others had two feet of mud once it left. This building did not get any water in it. They were lucky.”
O'Leary said the contribution of time, effort, and skills by volunteers will be essential in the recovery months to come.
“Shane showed up within a week after the flood,” O'Leary said. “He told me up front that they were going to help us rebuild, and they were going to be here for the long haul.
“I didn’t know what to expect because many people told me a lot of stuff. But he is and has been true to his word.”
O'Leary said that work also inspired the Amish and Mennonite people to help in Chimney Rock.
“They reached out to Shane and said, ‘We’ve been watching Spokes of Hope. We’ve been watching you from afar. We see that you do good work and want to help.’”
Recently, the Amish and Mennonite volunteers have been arriving in busloads to share their traditional carpentry and furniture-building skills, using conventional and modern tools, O'Leary said.
“And these guys and women are workers. They just go,” he said.
Their work is not only of high quality, but also free. Moreover, they view assisting during times of need as a privilege.
“These volunteers are thanking us,” O'Leary said. “They get emotional sometimes when you talk to them. They’re emotional about the fact that they can come and help us rebuild, so it’s pretty cool.”
O'Leary said that reconstructing the highway through the village will cost more than $300 million.
A community task force acknowledges that it will take several years to rebuild and replace what was lost, he said.
The goal is to return even stronger than before.
“I’m very encouraged,” O'Leary said, “but at the same time, it’s hard sometimes to keep your spirits up.”
“We’ve just entered the tunnel. I can’t see the light at the end yet.”
