The landscape of Western North Carolina has forever been changed: its the small mountain towns and villages that have borne the brunt of the damage

Closures from storm damage could lead to supply-chain bottlenecks — and price increases — for the chips used in AI, smartphones and cars.

The death toll from Helene climbed as emergency responders rushed to rescue residents in small mountain towns that have been cut off from communication.

The tiny town is the only place on the planet with the high-quality quartz essential to semiconductor production.

Gas shortages, downed power lines, spotty phone service and blocked roads made rescuing residents and assessing damage a nearly impossible task across much of western North Carolina, a day after Hurricane Helene drenched the region with historic amounts of rainfall.

Residents of the historic town of Marshall, population roughly 800, are trying to dig out from the damage wrought by Hurricane Helene

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.

Mountainside North Carolina towns have been “forever changed” and cut off from the world by the wrath of Hurricane Helene — with residents calling the destruction “absolutely overwhelming.” “Chimney Rock is just destroyed,