(The Center Square) – Fifty-five base camps established through a Texas company in North Carolina following Hurricane Helene nearly two years ago averaged costing more than $500,000 a day.
In a rapid response special report from the state auditor, costs associated with the camps and operated by SLSCO Ltd. under a 2023 contract with North Carolina Emergency Management. SLS provided turn-key operations for base camps and comfort stations that cost $111 million over seven months.
Rates charged were based on anticipated number of people at each location rather than actual usage, with general staff earning $85 an hour and a POD manager $145.50 per hour. Site coordinators earned $12,100 per week, the equivalent of an annual salary of $629,200.
The cost for a single bed tabulated to roughly $800 per night and individual meals to $41.67.
“These base camps were an essential service in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Helene,” said first-term Republican state Auditor Dave Boliek. “Now that we are in the long-term rebuilding phase of recovery, and knowing that future emergencies will strike, it is essential that we, as a state, have discussions on associated costs.”
He said, “$111 million is no small total, and the absence of key metrics raises a clear need to assess how these camps are utilized and consider the full return on the expense.”
Boliek and his staff recommended Emergency Management “track usage rates and per-use costs for showers, restrooms, laundry, meals, and other disaster-related support services. Improved tracking could assist the state in negotiating better costs in future contracts and ensure efficient allocation of resources for North Carolinians affected by disasters.”
Helene, arguably the state’s worst natural disaster in history, killed 108 in the state, 237 in the South, and caused an estimated $60 billion to $80 billion in damage in North Carolina.
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 total rainfall 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 from hurricanes that happens in the coastal plains.
A congressional package of $110 billion passed in December 2024 included about $9 billion for the state. FEMA assistance grants and packages have eclipsed $1 billion.
The General Assembly’s appropriation grew to more than $2.8 billion through the fiscal year 2027 spending plan and five previous packages.
