As dark clouds swirled above the mountains last September, the remnants of Hurricane Helene torpedoed into western North Carolina. Suddenly, the natural beauty that had attracted generations of artists to the region became the source for the deadliest disaster to ever strike the state.

Forested hills soaked with rain turned into devastating landslides. Creeks transformed into raging rivers that uprooted homes and swept bodies miles away. More than 100 people were killed, and estimates put the cost of the damage to the region at roughly $60 billion. A year later, only about $9 billion in state and federal aid has been injected into towns that are still haunted by the devastation.

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