Summary
- Gov.
Roy Cooper urges Congress for more funds for Helene recovery. - Helene
caused $53 billion in damage, mainly in western North Carolina. - Flooding,
landslides destroyed roads, homes, and infrastructure last September. - Initial
relief: nearly $900 million approved; request now $3.9 billion.
Heavy rains from the storm caused catastrophic flooding and
hundreds of landslides in the hilly area. Officials in North Carolina believe
that Helene’s devastation totaled about $60 billion.
Approximately $5.24 billion has been allotted by the federal
government to the state’s rehabilitation thus far. At a press conference on
Tuesday, Governor Josh Stein stated that was not nearly enough.
“My concern is whether this Congress and this
administration is going to do a supplemental disaster appropriation, because
that’s where we need real money. We’ve had good money, but we need real money
to help western North Carolina get back on its feet quicker,”
Stein
said.
Stein asked Congress for a $11.6 billion aid package in
February. To date, federal politicians have not responded to that request.
Recently, Stein and recovery officials from North Carolina
have noted that approximately 6% of the estimated damages from Helene had been
paid by the federal government. According to them, that falls well short of
prior significant hurricanes, such as Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane
Florence in 2018, where the federal government paid for 53% and 20% of the
damage, respectively.
Additionally, Stein mentioned
the recovery monies for Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Hurricane Maria in 2017, and
Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The government contributed money equal to at least 73%
of the projected damages in each instance.
“What we’re asking for is not unreasonable. What we
want is for the federal government to care about western North Carolina as they
cared about Louisiana, as they cared about Puerto Rico, as they cared about New
Jersey,”
Stein said.
For months, state legislators have stated that they will
require substantial federal assistance to aid in the rehabilitation of western
North Carolina. Sen. Ralph Hise, R-Mitchell, of North Carolina, famously stated
in November of last year that only the U.S. Congress can pay for Helene’s
rehabilitation because the state government of North Carolina does not have
enough money to cover it entirely.
Federal spending on the recovery would reach almost $16.8
billion if Congress fully fulfills Stein’s current $11.6 billion request. That
would cover 28.2% of the projected damage caused by Helene in North Carolina.
Stein said Tuesday that state authorities will be trying to
“refine” their request for Congressional assistance in order to look
for more funding in the upcoming weeks.
“Where we are lacking is a meaningful federal
appropriation, and so we need Congress and we need the administration to do a
supplemental disaster appropriation,”
Stein said.
Days after North Carolina completed restoring its first home
destroyed by Hurricane Helene, Stein’s comments were made. The organization in
charge of the repairs had received hundreds of applications.
2,074 applications have been submitted to the state’s Helene
home repair program, Renew NC. A public dashboard indicates that 941 more
applications are pending.
$807 million from a Community Development Block Grant
Disaster Recovery from the federal government is used to fund the state
program.
Homeowners with low-to-moderate incomes who reside in
regions that have experienced significant hurricane damage will be given
preference.
Stein added that he intends to request further state funding
from the General Assembly to aid in Helene’s recuperation.
“What they funded has been positive,”
Stein
said.
“In my view, it just hasn’t been enough. And that’s a natural
tension that exists between the executive and the legislature, and so we will
continue to work through and prioritize what programs really make a big
difference and how much to fund them.”
Why does Governor Stein say current federal aid has been
insufficient for Helene recovery?
In terms of regular disaster assistance, the federal
government has contributed approximately 8 percent of the anticipated $60
billion in damages resulting from Helene in Western North Carolina.
Most of the expected funding has been stalled or restricted,
limiting municipalities and local governments’ reimbursements for repairs to
infrastructure, emergency services and debris removal. In addition to expanding
local funds on disaster expenditures upfront and later seeking reimbursement to
further strain scant resources. Approximately $100 million in federal funds
remain unreleased.
Stein has stressed that the recovery efforts in Western
North Carolina remain hindered because the response from the federal government
has not been comparable to similar storms in other states.
