SWANNANOA, N.C. — On September 28th, Hurricane Helene tore through the Southeastern United States with damaging winds and historic rainfall, devastating much of the region. Bearing the brunt of the storm’s destruction was the area surrounding Asheville, North Carolina, where small towns were nearly wiped off the map by floodwaters.
One of those towns is Swannanoa, a tight-knit community of 5,465 tucked into the mountains ten miles east of Asheville.
Four weeks after Helene’s arrival, the town’s main stretch is all but gone. A number of buildings have disappeared, leaving nothing but their foundation, while the structures still standing are mangled heaps of muddy wood and concrete.
The devastation was unlike anything I’ve ever seen.
Driving through the town’s barely navigable streets, debris and battered shells of…
