A year after Hurricane Helene, a region still awaits help, but marks recovery
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Patrik Jonsson Staff writer
| Old Fort, N.C.
When this Blue Ridge mountain town in North Carolina gathers on Saturday morning to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the devastating floods caused by Hurricane Helene, the agenda calls for survivors to give witness, for voices to rise to 鈥淎merica the Beautiful,鈥� and for a moment of silence.
The ceremony 鈥渋s a way for us to try to wrap this up,鈥� says Old Fort Mayor Pam Snypes.
But a year after remnants of Helene spilled historic torrents of rain down these mountains, Mayor Snypes admits that while progress has been made, there鈥檚 still so much left to do. Recovery efforts have not, in fact, been wrapped up 鈥� at all.
Why We Wrote This
Saturday marks the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Helene, a storm that pounded 鈥� and flooded 鈥� North Carolina鈥檚 mountain towns, and where politics has hampered recovery, except for local efforts. How getting federal aid has become more quixotic.
The mounds of debris have been cleared, businesses have reopened, and with help from Federal Emergency Management Agency funding and private donations, this town is pulling itself together in time for tourist season this year.
Still, like crops battered to the ground by heavy rain, Old Fort 鈥� like dozens of other communities throughout the western Carolina mountains 鈥� still needs fair weather to thrive, if not just survive. Many Old Fort residents remain in temporary housing, and the town is still awaiting millions of dollars in federal reimbursements for emergency expenditures needed to fix its streets, water systems, and schools 鈥� nearly 20 projects in all.
In short, the town has become a window on the challenges of a major recovery effort, as well as on how U.S. aid for disaster-struck communities 鈥� including the politicization of funding 鈥� impacts survivors.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 blame politics or the president, but the processes are repetitive, and the money is taking too long,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hey all mean well, but I honestly don鈥檛 care what your words are. Back it up, and put it into action.鈥�
Last week, North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, tried to do that. He traveled to Washington to re-up a request for $13 billion 鈥� what he calls the federal government鈥檚 鈥渇air share.鈥� To date, Washington has approved.
Structural reforms, mass firings at FEMA, and budgetary chess moves by the Trump administration have meanwhile led to growing complaints from both Republicans and Democrats 鈥� including local and federal representatives 鈥� about delays and confusion that are complicating the state鈥檚 recovery.
鈥淭he fundamental question remains: What happens to the overall community [being thought of] as a collective good?鈥� says Robert Griffin, founding dean of the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity at the University at Albany.
鈥淎mericans have said, 鈥榃e believe that even a small town in North Carolina deserves to be rebuilt so that people can live and grow in safety.鈥� Frankly, a lot of what I鈥檓 hearing now runs contrary to that,鈥� Mr. Griffin adds.
Delays, confusion, and 鈥渢aking too long鈥�
Helene struck a month before the 2024 election and became a flashpoint for candidates and political leaders who debated the federal government鈥檚 disaster-response efforts. President Trump and his campaign slammed the Biden administration, incorrectly saying that it was diverting FEMA funds to migrant housing.
At the time, some local Republicans, despite their support for Mr. Trump鈥檚 candidacy, pushed back on several online allegations 鈥� including the rumor that FEMA was only paying out $750 per claim. Many residents, they noted, were, in fact, receiving the maximum of $42,000 from the government to rebuild.
President Trump says the government鈥檚 promises are now being met through a faster, leaner, better FEMA. Trump administration officials point to a shorter timeframe for individual assistance payouts, as well as accolades from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott regarding Washington鈥檚 response to the recent floods in Texas. And the Department of Homeland Security, meanwhile, continues to repeat the Trump administration鈥檚 public relations mantra that Secretary Kristi Noem is 鈥渞ooting out waste, fraud, abuse, and is reprioritizing appropriated dollars.鈥�
Last week, the administration released $44 million on top of $1.3 billion already sent to North Carolina, including $1.4 million obligated for a new maintenance shed in Old Fort. The Department of Homeland Security said in a release that it is 鈥渆nsuring that dollars are delivered to communities at record speed.鈥�
But the reality on the ground, according to Mayor Snypes and others, is that funding has often been too little, too late.
As of September, North Carolina has been promised over $2 billion in FEMA funding for Hurricane Helene repairs, making it one of a handful of states, including Florida, Texas, and Louisiana, to receive sizable grants from an administration trying to shift disaster recovery to the states.
But delays have become endemic, complicating the recovery and creating new uncertainties about whether money already spent will be reimbursed.
Former FEMA head Cameron Hamilton, appointed by Mr. Trump and then ousted for contradicting the administration鈥檚 vow to eliminate FEMA, posted on social media that new budgetary checkoffs by Ms. Noem have created 鈥�.鈥�
Some delays are due to problems with congressional funding. FEMA鈥檚 Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) has become perennially underfunded in recent years, as costs and the frequency of disasters have increased.
That means that the Trump administration is 鈥渟tretching鈥� existing FEMA funding streams 鈥渢o in disaster recovery,鈥� according to a Sept. 19 report by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, which provides independent analysis of global problems.
The upshot is a series of frustrating delays like the ones seen here in Old Fort. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a short-term triage strategy that risks long-term consequences,鈥� write Carnegie鈥檚 Jennifer DeCesaro and Sarah Labowitz, in their report, 鈥淭he Trump Administration Is Quietly Curbing the Flow of Disaster Funding.鈥欌��
That reality is apparent throughout the Appalachian Mountains, where many towns are struggling to recover and are still waiting for help. A combination of state and federal funds, plus billions in insurance payouts, should cover about a quarter of the estimated $60 billion in damages from the storm. But about $44 billion of the disaster costs remains unfunded, according to a report released this week by the Governor鈥檚 Recovery Office for Western North Carolina.
The state鈥檚 latest request for $13 billion in additional federal funding won鈥檛 cover the outstanding expenses. But North Carolina is holding out hope for help. Congress ultimately appropriated approximately $120 billion for rebuilding efforts following Hurricane Katrina.
Earlier this week, Yancey County Manager Lynn Austin told lawmakers in Raleigh that officials have nearly exhausted the county鈥檚 entire budget, just on Hurricane Helene debris removal. In the past, FEMA would reimburse from 90% to 100% of those removal costs. But so far, the county hasn鈥檛 seen a cent.
鈥淭he feds have been, obviously, slower than anyone anticipated,鈥� said Sen. Ralph Hise, R-Mitchell, at the legislative hearing on funding requests to Congress.
鈥淥ur biggest obstacle is a lack of clarity and consistent guidance from FEMA,鈥� Dennis Aldridge, the Avery County Commissioner, told lawmakers.
FEMA frustrations, and unlikely allies
Also present at that hearing was Jonathan Krebs, the region鈥檚 recovery advisor, who stated that the slowdowns at FEMA are causing frustration, but that officials fear retribution from the Trump administration if they were to complain. 鈥淚t comes with a lot of complexity,鈥� Mr. Krebs told lawmakers.
Such fears are not unfounded. Acting FEMA Administrator David Richardson, who has no emergency management experience, has about Republican-led states getting FEMA aid faster than those led by Democrats, according to the Washington Post.
鈥淭he Trump administration has been very transactional: 鈥榃hat will you do for me if I do this for you?鈥欌�� says Christopher Cooper, who studies North Carolina politics at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. 鈥淏ut that鈥檚 not the way disaster relief works.鈥�
So, North Carolinians, whose early days are filled with tales of survival, a drive for self-governance, and improvisation, culminating in the first successful airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, have begun to improvise. And compromise.
Sen. Ted Budd, a MAGA-endorsed Republican, leaned on the administration earlier this month, holding up multiple appointments within the Department of Homeland Security until money was released.
It was a risky gambit. But it worked.
At the same time, Governor Stein, a Democrat, has continued to show strong polling numbers in western North Carolina, despite the region鈥檚 conservative leanings, mainly due to his reputation as a tough yet effective moderate.
In short, the common-good goal of helping the state鈥檚 storm-struck areas appears to have pushed partisan politics to the sidelines, at least when it comes to disaster recovery matters.
鈥淲e see Governor Stein and Senator Budd as unlikely allies,鈥� says Professor Cooper, co-editor of 鈥淭he New Politics of North Carolina,鈥欌�� a book of political essays. 鈥淚 doubt we鈥檒l catch them together at a Tar Heels game. But they have managed to work together.鈥�
And for all the foot-dragging and financial problems, the progress these western North Carolina communities have made since Helene has been meaningful, and, at times, awe-inspiring.
After a nearly 20-mile-long network of mountain bike trails above Old Fort was rendered unusable by downed trees, those trails are now mostly cleared. Much of the region is now open for seasonal, leaf-peeping tourists. Hundreds of bridges still need repair, but most state and county roads are open.
鈥淲e鈥檙e focused on rebuilding, not only so that we can survive, but grow,鈥� says Mayor Snypes. 鈥淏ecause of the storm, everything has shifted.鈥�
What matters
Up the hill from Old Fort鈥檚 downtown, lifelong resident Sonya Brendle recalls the chaos of the floods that wrecked nearly 50 homes around her. Now, she marvels at a town that is healing. Before the floods, she says, Old Fort residents had crossed swords over whether to allow microbreweries in a dry county. Now, thanks to the recovery effort, the town has come together again.
鈥淲e helped one another,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t was a close-knit town again. Politics didn鈥檛 matter.鈥�
That spirit underscores the broader American bet that communities struck by disaster can recover by working together, holding public officials accountable, and trusting Washington to deliver on the U.S. Declaration of Independence鈥檚 goal of being 鈥渁 more perfect union.鈥欌��
鈥淧eople do a lot of complaining, and I agree with a lot of the complaints. But can we imagine what the region would look like now if there were no disaster relief from the government?鈥� says Professor Cooper in Cullowhee. 鈥淚n a way, it鈥檚 been the best case I鈥檝e ever seen for why government still matters.鈥�
