One month after the federal disaster declaration for Hurricane Florence, more than $423 million in state and federal funds has been provided directly to North Carolinians to aid in their recovery.
The funds include grants from FEMA, payouts from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA):
- Nearly $99 million in state and federal grants approved for homeowners and renters.
- An estimated $171 million in claims paid to NFIP policyholders.
- More than $153 million in SBA low-interest disaster loans approved for more than 3,700 homeowners, renters and business owners.
Other updates and signs of recovery include:
- More than 28,000 North Carolinians have been approved for housing assistance grants. Of those, more than 16,700 homeowners and renters received temporary rental assistance.
- Nearly $16 million in grants have been approved to help homeowners and renters replace personal property, for medical and dental expenses, moving and storage fees and other serious disaster-related expenses not covered by insurance or other sources.
- FEMA and the state have assisted more than 14,000 visitors at disaster recovery centers. The centers serve as one-stop shops for hurricane survivors who need one-on-one help. Survivors can visit any center for assistance. To find center locations and hours, go to fema.gov/DRC. More centers will be opened soon.
- Teams of Disaster Survivor Assistance crews have visited more than 59,000 homes in storm-damaged communities, registered more than 3,900 survivors.
- FEMA inspectors have completed 98 percent of more than 88,000 assigned home inspections as part of the process of determining whether applicants are eligible for assistance. If an applicant’s home was inaccessible at the time of FEMA registration—but is now accessible—the applicant should call FEMA or visit any recovery center for a status update.
- More than $111 million in food assistance has been issued through the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP). This includes nearly 200,000 people who received a supplement to their existing Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) benefits and more than 436,000 people who were not already receiving help through the FNS program. Registration for D-SNAP is now closed.
- More than 1,200 households have received a single $500 payment for cleaning and removing contaminated floor coverings through Clean and Removal Assistance, for a total of $600,000.
Survivors whose homes are not safe, sanitary or accessible, and who do not have insurance, may register for assistance:
- Go online to DisasterAssistance.gov.
- Call 800-621-3362 (voice, 711 or VRS) or 800-462-7585 (TTY) anytime from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. local time seven days a week until further notice. Multilingual operators are available.
- Visit a disaster recovery center. Find an open center online at fema.gov/DRC, download the FEMA mobile app or the ReadyNC.org app. An in-person American Sign Language interpreter is available by calling or texting 202-655-8824. If possible, please allow 24 hours to schedule an interpreter.
The following 31 counties have been designated as eligible for Individual Assistance: Anson, Beaufort, Bladen, Brunswick, Carteret, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Duplin, Greene, Harnett, Hoke, Hyde, Johnston, Jones, Lee, Lenoir, Moore, New Hanover, Orange, Onslow, Pamlico, Pender, Pitt, Richmond, Robeson, Sampson, Scotland, Union, Wayne and Wilson.
For more information on North Carolina’s recovery from Hurricane Florence, visit ncpds.gov/Florence and FEMA.gov/Disaster/4393. Follow us on Twitter: @NCEmergency and @FEMARegion4.
###NCEM/FEMA46###