Henderson County officials report progress and funding crunch in Hurricane Helene recovery
Loading...
Summary
County staff told commissioners the recovery from Hurricane Helene has removed more than one million cubic yards of debris and secured about $32 million in FEMA allocations, but county financial shortfalls and paused federal operations have slowed reimbursements and work.
Henderson County officials updated the Board of Commissioners on April 6 about ongoing recovery from Hurricane Helene, saying extensive debris removal is complete in many areas but funding and federal pauses are slowing final work.
Recovery Director Natalia Pollard-Santana and Public Safety Director Jimmy Brissie reported the county has removed more than one million cubic yards of debris and that FEMA has allocated approximately $32 million in reimbursements. Pollard-Santana said the county currently faces an estimated $26 million shortfall and cautioned that some FEMA-allocated funds may not be immediately available under North Carolina rules.
Brissie and Pollard-Santana said work has been delayed by a temporary shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA, which has stalled approvals and slowed contractor progress. They reported that of the initial group of homes reevaluated by the tax office, 24 properties have been approved by FEMA for Hazard Mitigation, with 15 still under review. Two Landslide Mitigation applications have been submitted: one package covering roughly 40 individual property owners and another for a large homeowners association.
Bob Barker, SMART Program Director, estimated statewide debris removal costs at about $1 billion and identified FEMA approvals as the main bottleneck. County staff said FEMA granted a six-month extension for temporary housing and that debris-removal efforts are targeting completion by July, though officials stressed timing remains contingent on federal actions and contractor rework to correct previously submitted packets.
The update noted the county is pursuing additional grants and has received two awards to date. Commissioners and staff also raised transportation and road-repair needs in affected secondary roads; Commissioner Rebecca McCall noted reassessments by the Tax Office for damaged homes.
The board took the report as informational; no additional funding vote was taken at the meeting.