ASHEVILLE – Currently allocated federal disaster recovery funds are expected to dry up before Western North Carolina residents impacted by Tropical Storm Helene are aided, leaving roughly 2,100 applicants to the state’s program in flux if more funding does not arrive. In Asheville, the limited funding has created a major question: Does the city provide more funding for home repairs or instead focus on building new affordable rental housing?
The federal government has awarded $8.3 billion in aid to WNC since Helene hit in September 2024, but total funding for recovery has lagged estimated costs. The storm caused over $60 billion in damages and killed over 100 in the state of North Carolina, according to state estimates. According to data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Helene destroyed nearly 1,000 homes in the region and nearly 30,000 homes require habitability repairs, the Citizen Times reported.
Gov. Josh Stein has publicly called on Congress to appropriate more funding for Helene recovery, but no bill funding any disaster recovery has passed since December 2024. Federal funding is estimated to cover only 14% of the storm’s costs, well below the federal government’s share for other natural disasters like hurricanes Maria, Sandy and Katrina…