(The Center Square) – North Carolina business owners say they are troubled by slow and ineffective federal programs, while state leaders continue to appropriate and seek help from Washington as the recovery from Hurricane Helene reaches the one year mark this weekend.
U.S. Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., said approved funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency are wanted quicker. The Small Business Administration was apologetic during a Senate hearing this week, much the same as politicians at odds over funding.
The General Assembly didn’t get a two-year state budget done as required by law for implementation on July 1 – Friday marked the 88th day late – and haven’t given first-term Democratic Gov. Josh Stein a relief bill to sign since the last week of June. Five packages so far have yielded more than $2.1 billion.
Congress, separate of federal agencies, hasn’t delivered since December when about $9 billion of a $110 billion package was slotted for the state. Second-term Republican President Donald Trump took office and made the mountains his first stop on his first trip out of the White House the week of his inauguration. The value of FEMA’s assistance package to North Carolinians exceeds $1 billion, and this week the Department of Transportation said another $1.15 billion in emergency funding for roads and bridges is on the way.
Earlier, the Department of Homeland Security said $64.2 million would help recovery project reimbursements.
The storm killed 107 in North Carolina, 236 in the South, and caused estimated damage between $60 billion and $80 billion in the state. The storm made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in Dekle Beach, Fla., on Sept. 26, 2024.
It was expected to come north to the Appalachian Mountains; however, the rainfall total from its dissipation there exceeded all forecasts. Some places got more than 30 inches, most were at 24 inches or more. Due to terrain, water often rushed before it pooled and flooded – very unlike the flooding that happens in the coastal plains.
The state Department of Transportation estimates $5 billion in damage to state-maintained bridges and roads. Nearly 98% of closed roads have reopened, and work has been by DOT on 6,500 damaged sites and more than 500 bridges.
Stein says 96% of water systems have returned online and all state parks are either partially or fully reopened.
The debris removal totals have eclipsed 15 million cubic yards, a figure that includes roads, waterways and private properties.
