After more than a month of waiting for a single approval from the Trump administration, Gov. Josh Stein announced this week the release of millions of dollars from the Federal Emergency Management Agency that will go towards road repair projects and Hurricane Helene recovery.
During a Wednesday visit to Henderson County, Stein called on the federal government to provide more funding to help the area recover from the storm.
The calls for more money came the day after Stein announced that the federal government had released millions of dollars of recovery funding. The money was awaiting a final approval from Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. As part of a new Trump administration policy, Noem needs to sign off on all requests over $100,000.
“Releasing these funds would make strides toward providing financial certainty to communities that will continue to need significant support to rebuild,” Stein wrote in an August 15 letter to Noem. A similar letter had been sent in July.
The Department of Homeland Security houses the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
FEMA provided $83 million in public assistance grant funding with its latest approval, falling more than $100 million short of the state’s request.
The money will go towards Department of Transportation projects throughout Western North Carolina, debris removal in Haywood County and dozens of other ongoing recovery projects.
North Carolina officials are also still waiting on $94 million in hazard mitigation grants, which allow local governments to acquire or elevate homes deemed to be at significant risk for future flood damage.
“Further delay leaves families in limbo as we stare down the barrel of another hurricane season. The applications awaiting approval represent hundreds of western North Carolina families still needing resolution for their homes nearly one year after Hurricane Helene devastated the region,” Stein wrote.
The state estimates that the storm left behind $60 billion in damage and has requested about half of that money from the federal government. So far, only about 8% has been provided to the state, Stein said.
On average, states receive about 45-48% of the total damages for storms comparable to Hurricane Helene, according to the Matt Calabria, director of the Governor's Recovery Office for Western North Carolina.
“The federal government has not stepped up, and they must step up more,” Stein said. “It is now time for Congress to put its attention to disaster relief and helping the people of Western North Carolina.
