South Raleigh News

This week, Governor Roy Cooper is set to lead a delegation of state and local leaders to Washington, D.C. The purpose of the visit is to present a request for $25.57 billion in federal aid aimed at supporting recovery efforts from Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina. During his time in Washington, Governor Cooper will meet with President Biden, Senator Thom Tillis, Senator Ted Budd, Congressman Chuck Edwards, and other federal officials.

The North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management has conducted a preliminary assessment estimating total damages from Hurricane Helene at $53.6 billion. This figure surpasses the damage caused by Hurricane Florence in 2018 by more than three times.

“Hurricane Helene was the deadliest and most damaging storm our state has ever faced, and Western North Carolina needs our help to rebuild,” stated Governor Cooper. “There is a long, complex and expensive recovery ahead that will be difficult to accomplish without significant and immediate funding from federal and state governments."

Governor Cooper's request includes several allocations: $7.41 billion from the U.S. Department of Transportation and FEMA for transportation infrastructure; nearly $6 billion from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for housing recovery; $1.75 billion from FEMA for the Community Disaster Loan Program; $1.67 billion from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for crop loss relief; and $1.23 billion from the Small Business Administration for disaster loans.

Last month, Governor Cooper recommended an initial state package worth $3.9 billion to start rebuilding critical infrastructure damaged during the storm. However, meaningful funding approval by the state legislature remains pending.

FEMA has disbursed over $244 million in Individual Assistance funds to survivors in Western North Carolina so far, with more than 260,000 people registered for assistance. Nearly 2,000 FEMA staff are currently on-site assisting with relief efforts.

Power outages persist across Western North Carolina with approximately 554 customers still without power—a reduction from over one million at peak outage levels.

The Office of Chief Medical Examiner has confirmed 103 storm-related deaths in North Carolina due to Hurricane Helene.

For those affected seeking assistance or information about resources available through FEMA can call 1-800-621-3362 or visit www.disasterassistance.gov.