North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is pitching a $3.9 billion recovery package to begin rebuilding critical infrastructure, homes, businesses, schools, and farms damaged during and after Hurricane Helene, now the worst storm to ever hit the state.
Less than a month after the storm tore through the North Carolina mountains total damage estimates are $53 billion, which is three times the havoc wrought by Hurricane Florence in 2018. Helene is now the costliest tropical storm to ever hit North Carolina, in damage and lives lost, Cooper said Wednesday.
“Helene is the deadliest and most damaging storm ever to hit North Carolina,“ Cooper said. “This storm left a trail of destruction in our beautiful mountains that we will not soon forget, but I know the people of Western North Carolina are determined to build back better than ever. These initial funds are a good start, but the staggering amount of damage shows we are very much on the front end of this recovery effort.”
Both the state House and Senate are scheduled to convene on Thursday. The House Rules committee also is set to meet at 12:30 and is expected to take up Hurricane Helene measures. The state’s rainy day fund currently has $4.47 billion, with an additional $700 million in a disaster response fund.
Recovering from such a devastating blow will require significant investment by private insurance companies and government at all levels from local to federal, he said.
The proposed funding package includes $578 million to address the physical damage and cleanup of energy, water, waste clean-up, telecommunications, dams and other infrastructure.
Cooper said the economic hit to the state is “unparalleled.” Thousands of businesses in western North Carolina also suffered damage. Cooper’s funding package includes $650 million to address economic losses and physical damage for non-agricultural businesses and non-profit organizations.
He proposes restarting the pandemic-era Business Recovery Grant Program, and has already increased unemployment insurance benefits through an executive order with a bipartisan and unanimous vote of the Council of State.
Another $650 million will address physical damage to residential structures and cost of housing assistance and should jumpstart permanent housing construction in advance of potential federal funds, which can take months or years to be approved, he said.
Helene also wrecked hundreds of thousands of acres of agricultural land and hundreds of structures. The funding package includes $422 million to address physical damage and business disruption for agricultural enterprises.
Helene severely impacted approximately 5,000 miles of state-maintained roads across the affected area in western North Carolina, including several major national interstates and critical transportation corridors. The proposed funding package includes $55 million to address physical damage and state revenue implications of the transportation infrastructure damage.
“Large scale disasters fueled by climate change in recent years have shown the challenges and enormous costs of recovery as well as the need to ensure structures are hardened are they are rebuilt to withstand future storms,” Cooper said. “Successful recoveries require significant early investments to ensure communities have the tools to fully rebuild.”
The state is still recovering from several storms that hit prior to Helene. The proposed budget increase includes $420 million for ongoing needs related to an unnamed post-tropical storm that hit southeastern North Carolina earlier this year, Tropical Storm Debby and funds to complete homeowner assistance for Hurricanes Florence and Matthew.
