(The Center Square) – Three weeks are available for applications to be made to a $50 million broadband recovery program in 39 North Carolina counties.
Funding is through a section of an August mini-budget the Republican majority Legislature sent to first-term Democratic Gov. Josh Stein in August. Continuing Budget Operations, known also as House Bill 125, has a Broadband Fund Flexibility section administered by the Department of Information Technology.
Counties with disaster declaration from Hurricane Helene, including the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, are within the populace to seek reconstruction or repair of infrastructure. The connections will enable residents, businesses and community institutions to remain on high-speed internet.
Priority first in the program goes to restoration.
In a release, Teena Piccione said, “Connectivity is essential to resilience. As we help western North Carolina recover from the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene, restoring broadband service is critical to ensuring communities can rebuild stronger, safer, and more connected than before.”
Piccione is chief information officer and secretary in the Department of Information Technology. Applications are available at the DIT website and the deadline is 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 24.
This is the 58th week of recovery from Helene.
The storm killed 108 in North Carolina, 237 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 from hurricanes that happens in the coastal plains.
