The mountainous village where “The Last of the Mohicans” and “Dirty Dancing” were filmed is no longer there following the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene, a local official told Fox News Digital. 

The little town of Chimney Rock in North Carolina sits at the base of Chimney Rock State Park and is home to the picturesque Lake Lure. Ed Broyhill, a North Carolina GOP national committee member, who owns a home on the lake, said the community has been devastated by storm damage.

“The saddest thing in the world is that a lot of the folks have etched out a living catering to tourism…. They have everything from hotels and motels and restaurants and nice stores and souvenir stores and clothing stores, and all of that was washed away. Every bit of it, all of it, was washed into the lake,” he said.

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Roads are washed out, electricity remains out for many, and Broyhill believes it will take “at least a year” to rebuild. 

He called it the “worst weather event that’s ever occurred in western North Carolina.” 

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Boats, parts of businesses and homes all washed away following the torrential downpour of Helene in western North Carolina. (James Broyhill)

Broyhill recalled watching National Guard helicopters evacuating people from the area Sunday. He inspected the local area and saw entire sections of road missing. “It’s surreal,” he said.

James Broyhill walking on the dock of his family house on Lake Lure, North Carolina. (James Broyhill)

The North Carolina Department of Transportation has urged people to avoid unnecessary travel in western North Carolina, ahead of the usually busy fall foliage season.

“Our top priority is everyone’s safety and well-being,” Transportation Secretary Joey Hopkins said in a press release. “People should still consider roads in western North Carolina to be closed and avoid travel unless it is absolutely necessary. Priority must be given to all the emergency responders, utility and transportation crews, and others who are working hard to help with what will be a lengthy response and recovery effort.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer needs to “immediately reconvene” the upper chamber so it can consider measures to approve FEMA funding in the wake of Hurricane Helene’s devastation, Sen. Rick Scott said in a statement today.

“While I know from my experience with previous hurricanes that FEMA and SBA damage assessments take time, I am today urging Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to immediately reconvene the U.S. Senate when those assessments are completed so that we can pass the clean supplemental disaster funding bill and other disaster relief legislation, like my Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act, needed to ensure the full recovery of families in all impacted communities,” said the Florida Republican.

On Saturday night, following Sen. Scott and Sen. Marco Rubio’s letter to President Joe Biden urging his immediate approval of a Major Disaster Declaration for the State of Florida, President Biden approved the request. This Major Disaster Declaration approval follows last week’s approval of the State of Florida’s request for a pre-landfall emergency declaration for potentially impacted Florida counties at the request of Senators Scott and Rubio.

The interim spending bill approved last week to avoid a government shutdown “anticipated” the possibility of Hurricane Helene ravaging parts of the U.S. So that’s why lawmakers made sure that FEMA could spend down its current reserves more quickly to respond to immediate needs after the storm. Moreover, a senior House Republican source told Fox that “this is why it would have been a bad idea to shut down the government.”

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The Rocky Broad River flows into Lake Lure and overflows the town with debris from Chimney Rock, North Carolina after heavy rains from Hurricane Helene on Sept. 28, 2024, in Lake Lure, North Carolina. (Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)

But earlier today, ahead of Scott’s statement, a senior congressional source familiar with the purse strings conceded that “it would not surprise me” if lawmakers were recalled to Washington to approve additional money to respond to immediate needs because the devastation has been so bad.”

“I’m not adverse to that,” said one senior House Republican. “And I would not agree with those who say we’re not coming back.”

That said, another senior House Republican told Fox, “We will definitely need to appropriate emergency funds. Western North Carolina is like New Orleans during Katrina.” But the source cautioned that it was doubtful Congress would have to act in the next month. That’s different compared to Congress coming back into an emergency session just days after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast in 2006.

One thing to watch in the coming days is whether or not FEMA has enough money in the near-term to respond to the catastrophic impact of Helene.

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Congress left town without providing enough disaster relief to address “older” natural disasters. In particular, there has been a push to provide more money to address Hurricane Beryl which hit Texas in July. There are also issues responding to tornadoes in Iowa. And there is a longstanding issue with providing enough money to Hawaii after wildfires charred Maui last year. 

Some lawmakers wanted the additional disaster aid loaded onto the interim spending bill that Congress approved last week to keep the government open — and then left town through mid-November.

However, the temporary spending bill did give FEMA authority to draw down the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) more rapidly. The question is whether the DRF bottoms out after Helene. Or, certainly if there are impacts from other potential storms that may soon churn in the Gulf of Mexico. Fox is told a combination of another storm — coupled with addressing needs following Helene — could bleed the coffers at FEMA.

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That said, one source familiar with congressional spending indicated that despite the near-apocalyptic nature of Helene, we just don’t know enough yet about the needs. A better sense of things could come later this week.

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In this August 2006 file photo, the city skyline is seen with Bayou St. John in the foreground Aug. 25, 2006 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

So what happens if FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund dwindles too much?

Congress could be recalled to re-load the fund. That happened in the late summer of 2005 following Hurricane Katrina. Congress was out of session during the customary August recess — which often stretches a few days into early September. Several days after Katrina hit, it was clear that the impacts would drain FEMA’s funds quickly. In a dramatic midnight session, then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) recalled the Senate and a skeleton crew to approve the additional aid. The House shortly followed suit. 

Chad Pergram currently serves as a senior congressional correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC). He joined the network in September 2007 and is based out of Washington, D.C.

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Rev. Franklin Graham, CEO of both Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, on Monday spent time in Valdosta, Georgia, together with former president Donald Trump, to offer assistance and comfort to those impacted by Hurricane Helene’s devastation.

While the official death toll as of Monday afternoon is over 125, hundreds more people could be deceased, according to officials on Monday afternoon, Fox News reported.

Roads, bridges, homes and businesses have been destroyed while many of those who are stranded await supplies. 

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Samaritan’s Purse is responding in the states of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee, the organization shared with Fox News Digital on Monday.

“This building behind us represents hundreds of thousands of people that have lost homes, businesses, friends, loved ones,” said Rev. Graham on Monday in remarks. 

“It is going to take an army of volunteers and people to respond, and at Samaritan’s Purse we want to always respond in Jesus’ name. We want people to know that God loves them, that God cares for them.”

Samaritan’s Purse disaster relief specialists arrived on Friday afternoon to begin assessments. 

He added, “Sometimes when a storm like this comes, people think, ‘Well, maybe God is mad at us, maybe this is His judgment?’ No. God loves us. How do I know that? Because the Bible tells us that God loves us and cares for us.”

Graham also said, as shared with Fox News Digital, “Yes, there are storms in life, but God will take us through those storms if we put our faith and trust in His Son, Jesus Christ.”

Rev. Graham, far left, with Trump and others on Monday in Georgia.  (Samaritan’s Purse / Billy Graham Evangelistic Association)

He thanked the former president “for coming and helping to put a spotlight on this city, this state and this region that has lost so much.”

Samaritan’s Purse disaster relief specialists arrived on Friday afternoon to begin their assessments, the organization told Fox News Digital. 

Crews are continuing the work to clear debris, restore power and get supplies to areas affected by the storm.

Two disaster relief units — tractor-trailers stocked with tools and equipment — also departed on Friday from North Carolina, where Samaritan’s Purse is headquartered, to serve as a base of operations for volunteer teams, the group said. 

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Also, the organization is responding in western North Carolina through disaster relief. 

Rev. Graham is shown offering prayers on Monday for all those who are suffering and have been impacted by Hurricane Helene.  (Samaritan’s Purse / Billy Graham Evangelistic Association)

It is setting up a field hospital unit in the parking lot of the Watauga Medical Center, it said, to provide oxygen for patients who have no power at home.

Crews are continuing the work to clear debris, restore power and get supplies to areas affected by the storm.

The category 4 hurricane made landfall along Florida’s Big Bend region late on Thursday night, FOX Weather reported, with winds of 140 mph and a devastating storm surge.

As the storm traveled across the U.S., Helene left behind widespread destruction from the Sunshine State through Georgia into the Carolinas and Tennessee Valley.