Debris remains one of the lingering reminders of Hurricane Helene almost seven months after the storm tore through western North Carolina.
So far, the equivalent of 660,000 dump trucks worth of the debris – everything from tree trunks to golf carts to family heirlooms – has been removed from neighborhoods throughout the area.
And there’s still a lot more to clean.
“It's huge, and there's still a lot of work to do. I don't want to minimize that at all in what I'm saying,” Justin Graney, a North Carolina Emergency Management spokesman said Friday during a state emergency response commission meeting.
“There is a lot of work that still needs to be done in North Carolina, and the state emergency response team is committed to making sure that that does occur. And we're, we're not leaving until the mission's over.”
Graney presented a Hurricane Helene update to commissioners, detailing steps taken by the state before, during and after the storm.
On debris removal, he calculated 6.7 million cubic yards had been removed from public and private property so far. Another 3 million cubic yards – about 900 olympic swimming pools worth – has been removed from waterways.
“ It's important to tourism and fishing,” he told commissioners. “Tourism is a huge economic driver in the western part of our state. We want to make sure that we're getting the debris out of the way as quickly as possible so that we get those communities reopened.”
Graney provided other updates on assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency including:
- Private roads and bridges program: 8,200 projects awarded
- National Flood Insurance Program Payments: $182 million
- Individual assistance funding approved: $431.8 million
- Rental assistance: 5,3000 households are receiving $14.8 million
- Mobile housing units provided: 242
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers give an update
Much of the debris removal work falls on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers which operates 15 debris management sites with more expected to open soon.
“We're bringing additional contractors that require additional debris management sites,” Brad Morgan, who leads the Wilmington district, said. “Some locations were able to haul that debris directly to the local landfill where we're managing it there and then shipping it off elsewhere.”
Agency officials met with Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Lee Forsgren along with U.S. Sen. Ted Budd, Old Fort Mayor Pam Snypes, and other state and federal officials in Old Fort last week.
Forsgren was appointed by President Donald Trump in late March.
The agency hopes to have a majority of debris cleanup completed by mid-summer, officials said. But concerns from environmental groups have begun to arise about whether the agency is doing enough to protect the land and wildlife habitats where they are working.
“In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, a well-intentioned effort to clear debris from North Carolina’s waterways has turned into an ecological crisis,” wrote Hans Lohmeyer, Stewardship Coordinator with Conserving Carolina.
“Heavy machinery is crushing both mussel beds and the homes of our last remaining hellbender salamanders, which are endangered in NC and were already severely impacted by Helene.”
George Minges, lead debris subject matter expert for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said the agency has heard the environmental concerns and is working with the state environmental agency to prevent damage.
“The contractor down in that area has even hired some of their own biologists to go out ahead of the equipment and help clear some of those animals out of there. Just so we can go above and beyond just to try and make sure that we're not damaging the environment or creating the next disaster,” he said.
