They just lined up like two big Caterpillar dozers, and we watched them just take this whole farm out," Nix said, the sun beating down hard as if determined to dry up the remaining puddles. Nearby, a John Deere backhoe was just another chunk of junk,

Nearly 400 miles from where Hurricane Helene made landfall, the North Carolina mountain hamlet of Chimney Rock Village has been all but wiped off the map.