FEMA to hire Community Liaisons across the state to aid in recovery
More than $300 million approved for North Carolina survivors and state recovery efforts
Following Hurricane Helene's devastating impacts across the Southeast and Appalachia, the Biden-Harris Administration continues its robust Federal efforts to help communities recover and rebuild, including in heavily impacted communities in North Carolina. Across the state, the Administration is working alongside state and local officials to continue surging resources and assisting families, business owners, farmers, and other impacted communities receive the support and assistance they need and deserve.
To continue supporting recovery efforts, today the Administration is announcing that the Federal government will create a brand-new program and hire Community Liaisons to assist impacted communities with their recovery and rebuilding efforts. These dedicated Community Liaisons will interface between the people of North Carolina and FEMA to ensure their needs are met and serve as trusted messengers for survivors.
Thus far, the Administration has approved more than $300 million in assistance across the state, including $118 million in individual assistance to more than 87,600 households, and more than $189 million for debris removal and other emergency efforts. In total, across all impacted states in the Southeast and Appalachia, the Administration has approved nearly $2 billion in hurricane recovery assistance.
These new efforts to support North Carolina's recovery supplement additional resources and funding, including:
- More than 1,500 Federal personnel remain deployed supporting the response and recovery operations. This includes more than 400 Disaster Survivor Assistance Team members, who are visiting neighborhoods to connect with survivors, assess damage, and offer access to Federal resources that support recovery and rebuilding.
- Fourteen Disaster Recovery Centers are operating in impacted areas and have served more than 5,700 visitors. More centers will be opening in the coming days. Survivors can visit Disaster Recovery Centers in the following cities/towns: Asheville, Bakersville, Boone, Brevard, Hendersonville, Jefferson, Lenoir, Marion, Morgantown, Newland, Old Fort, Sparta, Sylva, and Waynesville.
- FEMA is providing temporary hotel stays to more than 2,500 households through Transitional Sheltering Assistance.
- FEMA inspectors have performed more than 21,000 home inspections to help survivors assess damage and apply for financial assistance.
- Active-duty troops and National Guard members remain on the ground in their state capacity to support search-and-rescue operations, route clearance, and commodities distribution across western North Carolina. The Department of Defense is also employing additional capabilities to assist with increasing situational awareness across the remote terrain of Western North Carolina. The Army Corps of Engineers continues missions supporting debris removal, temporary emergency power installation, water and wastewater assessments with the Environmental Protection Agency.
- Power has been restored to 99 percent of impacted North Carolina customers due to thousands of utility personnel working around the clock.
- Commodity distribution, mass feeding, and hydration operations continue in areas of western North Carolina. FEMA continues to send commodity shipments and voluntary organizations are supporting feeding operations with bulk food and water deliveries coming in via truck and aircraft. Mobile feeding operations are reaching survivors in heavily impacted areas, including three mass feeding sites in Buncombe, McDowell and Watauga counties.
Additional actions the Administration is taking to protect public health, provide flexibilities to homeowners and taxpayers, support infrastructure recovery, and support workers, farmers, and students in North Carolina can be found here. Additional actions President Biden directed before Helene's landfall can be found here.
Biden-Harris Administration's Continuous Commitment to Being on the Ground
Following Hurricane Helene's devastating impacts across North Carolina, President Biden committed to helping impacted communities recover and rebuild, no matter how long it takes. On October 2, less than one week after landfall, President Biden visited North Carolina to survey the damage, meet with first responders and impacted communities, and receive an operational briefing. As part of that visit, he also directed up to 1,000 active-duty troops to partner with the North Carolina National Guard on the ground at the request of the Governor. Days later, to surge additional resources and capacity at the request of the Governor, President Biden ordered another 500 active-duty troops to move into western North Carolina. On October 5, Vice President Harris also visited North Carolina to survey the damage, receive briefings, and meet with first responders.
The President and Vice President and senior leaders across the Administration have spoken with and coordinated closely with Governor Cooper throughout the response. President Biden talked with Governor Cooper at least twice immediately following Helene's landfall, and Governor Cooper joined him to survey damage and receive briefings during his visit. They have stayed in close contact in the ensuing weeks.
At the President's direction, FEMA Administrator Criswell has been on the ground in North Carolina for multiple days and nights to lead the Federal response since Helene's landfall. She has traveled across the state to meet with survivors and communities, identify resource needs, and continue ensuring a swift and coordinated recovery effort. She will return again this evening and remain in place to direct additional measures to speed response and recovery. Many other Administration leaders, including Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Secretary Michael Regan, and Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, have also visited North Carolina to support recovery efforts and others will do so in the coming days and weeks, including Secretary Tom Vilsack on October 25.
