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Seven months after Hurricane Helene, Chimney Rock rebuilds with resilience
“You’re alive. The rest will fall in place, and you just have to keep on trucking.”
CHIMNEY ROCK, N.C. — Nearly seven months after Hurricane Helene tore through the small mountain town of Chimney Rock, the scars left behind are slowly giving way to signs of strength.
The storm gutted homes, shattered storefronts and upended lives. But today, the people of Chimney Rock are doing more than just recovering. They’re rebuilding with purpose.
For Shari Cummings, Chimney Rock had been home for nearly 30 years. That changed in September when Helene unleashed its fury. She lost her home, her business and everything she had worked for, but not her spirit.
“I never, never faltered … you have to go on. That’s my personality. I’m going to do it,” Cummings said. “But we are going to get back. And one day may be bad, but another day will be good, so you just have to keep going.”
Cummings recounted the terrifying moment when the Broad River began to rise at a dangerous pace.
“Friday morning, the water just started to trickle in … and so we went upstairs and started filming it,” she said. “At 10, the water went 6 feet in three minutes, and at 10:03, we said we had to get out of the building.”
Within minutes, everything she knew as home was gone.
“Our house was on the bottom floor facing the river, and our store faced the road,” she said. “We lost both of them in 15 minutes.”
Amid the wreckage, however, were glimpses of hope — a white lamp, the signage for her store “The Hickory Nut,” and even her cat Soffee, the beloved store greeter, all made it through the storm.
Now, Cummings is focused on what’s ahead — rebuilding.
“We have it lined up, it is just going to take time,” she said. “We need money, we need concrete. We need rebar.”
Despite all she’s lost, Cummings remains grounded in gratitude and determination.
“You’re alive,” Cummings sad. “The rest will fall in place, and you just have to keep on trucking, as the old saying says.”
The road to recovery in Chimney Rock is far from over. But brick by brick, the town is rising again, stronger, and with more heart than ever.
Contact Jesse Pierre at jpierrepet@wcnc.com or follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.