CHIMNEY ROCK, N.C. (QUEEN CITY HOMETOWN) — “It was the start of something new. It’s just not there anymore.”
Starting over, again, was never part of the plan. “I have to figure it all out again, but yeah,” said Randi Williams.
In fact, Randi said, this was the place for her new beginning until Hurricane Helene flooded Chimney Rock and changed everything.
“Nobody knows what they’re doing next, nobody knows,” said Randi.
The mud has dried. Dust is coating everything. Their new reality is settling in. “We thought either the water was going to come up or the mountain was going to come down, there was no escaping it,” remembered Randi.
Across the river, homes have been ripped in half, giving an uninvited glimpse into people’s lives.
“It breaks my heart looking at it. I don’t come down here often, it just hurts. I wasn’t here long, it’s all I had,” said Randi.
She and her fiancé were sleeping in their apartment when their front door blew open and woke them up around 4:30 a.m., the day Helene hit.