Two months after Hurricane Helene washed homes down the rivers of Western North Carolina, many in the region are still displaced.
In early November, over 4,500 people across the 25 impacted counties were still using the transitional sheltering assistance provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA announced this week the program is extended through Dec. 12.
FEMA’s Transitional Sheltering Assistance was originally authorized for 60 days.
The program pays for families and individuals to stay in hotels across Western North Carolina.
Carolyn Brunk owns the Oak Park Inn in Waynesville with her husband Rick Gordan. She says about a dozen rooms at the inn are occupied by people who were displaced by Helene.
The inn participates in the FEMA program as well as local assistance programs through Mountain Projects and Helping Hands.
“We've been able to put lots of little families up that have lost everything. And that you know, that makes you feel good,” Brunk said. The Oak Park Inn has 37 rooms.
It’s not the first time disaster victims in Western North Carolina have made Oak Park Inn their temporary home, says Brunk who moved from Orlando with her husband in 2005 to escape hurricanes. When Tropical Storm Fred destroyed parts of Haywood County in 2021, folks from Laurel Bank Campground – where four people were killed – took refuge at the inn.
“They come back every year just to reminisce,” Brunk said.
The inn is one of about a dozen lodging businesses in Haywood County participating in FEMA’s transitional shelter program, according to the Haywood County Tourism and Development Authority. The TDA says that’s less than 20% of the hotels in the county.
Executive director of the Haywood County Tourism and Development Authority Corrina Ruffieux says she never expected to be working with FEMA as part of her role.
“We completely shifted gears in our office when Helene hit – from doing what a traditional destination management organization does to 100% working on recovery,” Riffieux said.
Part of that work has been calling hotels and motels across the county to help them apply to be a part of FEMA’s program.
She said much of the county had a “dress rehearsal” in 2021 during devastating flooding – and that has helped with Helene recovery organization.
“As horrific as that event was, so many of our county organizations learned so much from that experience that they were able to handle Helene in a much better way,” Ruffieux said.
Providing temporary housing for both disaster victims and visitors has been a key concern.
Ruffieux has heard the majority of local hotels and motels are full or partially full, but properties typically used as short-term rentals or vacation homes still have vacancies.
This may be because vacation rentals and some hotels don’t qualify for FEMA’s transitional housing program, Ruffieux said.
Ruffieux said that in October there were many workers from FEMA, DOT and other organizations staying in the county.
“Because Buncombe had no water and many of their properties couldn't serve visitors, the Buncombe County workers, rescue workers, recovery, etc., shifted to Haywood and then many of the Haywood workers were shifting west to Jackson and Sylva” Ruffieux said.
Beyond temporary housing, the county is working on permanent housing options for survivors. She says the transitional shelter extension is helpful.
“We'll take any extension we can get to keep families safe and warm and keep working on those longer-term solutions,” Ruffieux said.
Temporary housing is moving across the region
FEMA’s transitional shelter program pays for hotel rooms for eligible disaster survivors while their homes are repaired or they find new permanent housing. This is one of five direct housing assistance options funded by the federal government for those who went through the disaster. Other FEMA programs include displacement assistance, rental assistance, and home repair or replacement help.
For those eligible for FEMA rental assistance, the federal government on Nov. 1 increased the amount available – offering victims twice as much in rental payment assistance as the fair market rate of renting a property in their area.
“Our transitional sheltering assistance program by which FEMA pays for hotel rooms on behalf of survivors is the fastest form of direct assistance that we can offer to disaster survivors,” said Julia Moline, deputy assistant administrator for logistics operations with FEMA.
Moline, who oversees disaster housing logistics across the nation, says acquiring or building new homes for Helene victims will take much longer.
“These longer-term direct housing options … by design, take longer to implement because they are intended to be, to the extent possible, solutions that are tailored to meet individual survivors' needs,” Moline said.
There are 500 families that have been approved for temporary residences, which will most likely be mobile homes or travel trailers. Moline says those Helene survivors will receive temporary structures in the near future.
So far only 14 families in Western North Carolina have received a mobile home or travel trailer from FEMA to serve as temporary housing. One challenge, officials have pointed to, is not only the time it takes to approve and deliver such structures but also that federal guidelines prevent FEMA from placing a temporary home in a landslide or flood zone. The homes have been placed in Buncombe, Haywood, McDowell and Henderson counties.
FEMA is also establishing housing options in commercial areas including in Buncombe and McDowell counties.
“There is no speed fast enough for somebody waiting on a house or housing unit. So we are committed to keep moving forward and to stay here and get those units in place until everyone has a safe and secure and sanitary place to stay,” Deputy Federal Coordinating Officer Jeremy Slinker said. Slinker has been working with FEMA in North Carolina for the past few weeks.
