It is estimated that the devastation of Hurricane Helene could cost up to $34 billion. After making landfall near Perry, Fla., the Category 4 storm made its way up through Georgia and into the Carolinas and Tennessee. The storm, one of the most powerful in U.S. history, left around 130 people dead in its wake and destroyed an interstate, bridges and towns. Some small towns, such as Chimney Rock, N.C., were completely wiped out.
Eddie and Derinda Webb of Macon saw it happen firsthand and were lucky to make it out. They arrived at the rustic Riverside Lodge in Chimney Rock on Thursday night, Sept. 26, and the rain had already started. They checked into a room on the bottom floor next to the river…