This story is part of The Disaster Economy , a Grist series exploring the often chaotic, lucrative world of disaster response and recovery. It was produced by Grist , co-published with The Daily Yonder , and made possible thanks to support from the CO2 Foundation.

Margie Huggins has spent her retirement tending her parents’ farm in Transylvania County, in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. She grew up there, and has tried to give back to the land by planting native shrubs and flowers. She’s intensified her work since Hurricane Helene tore through the region almost one year ago, in hopes that it could mitigate future flooding.

“We had 12 feet of water in some of these pastures,” Huggins said as she walked to the bank of the Little River behind

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