RALEIGH – This week, Governor Roy Cooper will lead a delegation of state and local leaders and officials to Washington, D.C. to present a request for $25.57 billion in federal aid to support the recovery process from Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina. While in Washington, the Governor will meet with President Biden, Senator Thom Tillis, Senator Ted Budd, Congressman Chuck Edwards and other federal officials.
A preliminary assessment by the North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management estimates total damages to be $53.6 billion, more than three times the amount of Hurricane Florence in 2018.
“Hurricane Helene was the deadliest and most damaging storm our state has ever faced, and Western North Carolina needs our help to rebuild,” said Governor Cooper. “There is a long, complex and expensive recovery ahead that will be difficult to accomplish without significant and immediate funding from federal and state governments.”
The Governor’s $25.57-billion request includes:
- $7.41 billion from the U.S. Department of Transportation and FEMA for transportation needs including rebuilding and repairing interstates, highways, state and municipal roads and bridges, railroad tracks, general aviation airports and more.
- Almost $6 billion from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for housing recovery, economic revitalization, water quality and infrastructure, rebuilding private roads and bridges and more.
- $1.75 billion from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the Community Disaster Loan Program.
- $1.67 billion from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for crop and timber loss relief, watershed protections, conservation, forest restorations, rural water and waste disposal and more.
- $1.23 billion from the Small Business Administration from the Home and Personal Property Disaster Loan Program, and loans covering physical damage and economic injury.
Last month, Governor Cooper recommended an initial $3.9 billion state package to begin rebuilding critical infrastructure, homes, businesses, schools, and farms damaged during the storm. The state legislature has failed to approve meaningful funding for Western North Carolina while making plans to lock in billions of dollars for taxpayer-funded vouchers for unaccountable, unregulated private schools in the near future.
FEMA Assistance
Over $244 million in FEMA Individual Assistance funds have been paid so far to Western North Carolina disaster survivors and more than 260,000 people have registered for Individual Assistance. Over 9,000 people have been helped through FEMA’s Transitional Sheltering Assistance. More than 6,000 registrations for Small Business Administration Loans have been filed.
Nearly 2,000 FEMA staff are in the state to help with the Western North Carolina relief effort. In addition to search and rescue and providing commodities, they are meeting with disaster survivors in shelters and neighborhoods to provide rapid access to relief resources. They can be identified by their FEMA logo apparel and federal government identification.
North Carolinians can apply for Individual Assistance by calling 1-800-621-3362 from 7am to 11pm daily or by visiting www.disasterassistance.gov, or by downloading the FEMA app. FEMA may be able to help with serious needs, displacement, temporary lodging, basic home repair costs, personal property loss or other disaster-caused needs.
Power Outages
Across Western North Carolina, approximately 554 customers remain without power, down from a peak of more than 1 million. Overall power outage numbers will fluctuate up and down as power crews temporarily take circuits or substations offline to make repairs and restore additional customers.
Fatalities
103 storm-related deaths have been confirmed in North Carolina by the Office of Chief Medical Examiner. This number is expected to rise over the coming days. The North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will continue to confirm numbers twice daily.
