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Helene survivors remain scattered 'all over the state' one month later

Drone footage captures some of the damage caused by Helene to I-40 through the Pigeon River Gorge.
NCDOT DIVISION OF AVIATION
Drone footage captures some of the damage caused by Helene to I-40 through the Pigeon River Gorge.

It's been more than a month since Helene caused catastrophic damage in western North Carolina. The manager of Buncombe County called it her area's own Hurricane Katrina.

FEMA set up a base of operations in the mountains, but FEMA workers are also in the Triangle to help with recovery efforts.

WUNC's Will Michaels spoke with FEMA spokesman Darrell Habisch about how the agency is helping from the American Tobacco Historic District in Durham.


Helene has been compared to Hurricane Katrina. Is that an apt comparison?

"You know, it's really not a good idea to compare disasters. What I found is that if this happened to you, this is the biggest disaster ever. There is nothing worse if your children have lost their homes, one day they have a nice, warm bed, the next day they don't.

"We have more than 2,800 households in hotels around North Carolina right now, and that represents well more than 6,000 people that are displaced and that are working on rebuilding their lives."

How many displaced people are there in this area, in the Triangle?

"We don't break it out like that. I couldn't really tell you, because you know, when folks are moving, they're living with their moms, their dads, their kids, so they're all over the state right now."

On that note, is FEMA constructing temporary trailers, for instance, as they have done in other disasters?

"You know, those are all on the table, these shelters, they could be mobile homes, they could be travel trailers, they could be hotels, they could be leases on multifamily residences. We do provide the housing right now, but what's the more permanent solution while folks are on that road to recovery? That's the discussion that's happening right now. "

There's been a slew of false claims about FEMA response, including that the agency was blocking aid to western North Carolina, that it was seizing land in Lake Lure in Chimney Rock, or the opposite, that it wasn't doing anything at all. How have these claims impacted the response itself?

"Well, it affects the survivors. It affects mom and dad, who now may have second thoughts about signing up for the assistance that they may be entitled to.

"That's where the problem comes in when people start talking about spreading rumors that FEMA is confiscating goods. Well, how silly is that? What? Why would we do that? I mean, it makes no sense. We're the ones that are arranging for the delivery of all of these programs and all of those supplies to the areas you may see the army out there delivering supplies, and in this case, they are. You may see faith-based organizations. Well, a lot of that cooperation is coming through FEMA."

I wanted to ask about funding, if I could. The main question I want to ask is does FEMA have what it needs to continue the recovery efforts in North Carolina?

"Yes. That's the short answer, yes. It's the Disaster Recovery Fund. If you apply for assistance, you're not taking money away from your neighbor. These are, again, rumors. 'Well, you know, Bob over there, has it worse so I'm not going to apply for assistance because they need the money.' Well, it doesn't work that way.

"This is your tax money. It's there for you so that you can get back on the road to recovery. Now, are we an insurance company? No. Are we going to replace your home? No, but if your home only needs, let's say minor repairs, or certain repairs to make it livable, safe and functional again, we may be able to help you with that. That's what these grants are for."

Will Michaels is WUNC's Weekend Host and Reporter.