Report: Hurricane Helene Caused $53B In NC Damages

Improve the News Foundation -

Facts

  • North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced this week that the damage from Hurricane Helene will cost $53B, more than three times that endured after Hurricane Florence in 2018. He also asked the state legislature to approve $3.9B in state aid.[1]
  • The proposed budget includes $650M for non-agricultural businesses and nonprofits; $600M for housing assistance; $578M for infrastructure, such as utilities; another $55M for damaged roads; and $422M for the impacted agricultural economy.[2]
  • The legislature voted unanimously on Thursday to approve almost $900M in aid, following a $273M aid package passed earlier this month. State officials say the federal government is preparing $13.6B in aid, though that will reportedly take months to arrive.[3][1]
  • This comes as an estimated 126K homes have been damaged, 92.5% of which don't have flood insurance. The proposed budget would include $150M to help with that, which would match the amount provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).[1]
  • Hurricane Helene killed a total of at least 225 people across the Southeastern US, including at least 97 in North Carolina. In Florida, state officials say insurance losses will add up to $13.4B.[2][3]

Sources: [1]NC Newsline, [2]FOX Weather and [3]Al Jazeera.

Narratives

  • Democratic narrative, as provided by Governor. Both North Carolina and the federal government are actively providing relief for communities devastated by Hurricane Helene. After assessing the damage first-hand, Gov. Cooper has directed $600M in state relief funds, which comes on top of the $168M in FEMA funding. Both federal and state operations will continue as more money is allocated.
  • Republican narrative, as provided by FOX News. While Democrats and the White House play rhetorical games with American lives, the people of North Carolina and Florida have waited desperately for genuine help to arrive. Unfortunately for these tax-paying victims, the billions of dollars that should've been spent on them have already been spent on housing illegal immigrants.

Predictions