Damage assessments are ongoing in Nash and Edgecombe counties following a tornado that touched down last month. After the town of Dortches met the state threshold for public assistance damages incurred, the Governor filed a state emergency declaration earlier this week.
“Emergency Management is working diligently with local officials to identify communities that meet the damage threshold for support and to develop a special state budget request for those that don’t. I appreciate all of their efforts to get this important work done as quickly as possible,” said Governor Roy Cooper.
Areas surrounding Dortches suffered damage from the storm and assessments are underway to determine if communities may be eligible for state assistance and to prepare a state budget request for communities that don’t meet federal or state criteria.
To be eligible for state Individual Assistance or federal Small Business Disaster Loan Program Assistance, the impacted jurisdiction must have at least 25 homes with uninsured loses of 40% or more of the home value, along with impacts to community infrastructure and related factors.
To be eligible for federal FEMA major disaster declaration public assistance under the Robert T. Stafford Act, the State must suffer a minimum of $18,477,716 in uninsured losses and the impacted jurisdictions must meet a per capita threshold for those losses. To be eligible for state disaster public assistance, the impacted jurisdiction must suffer uninsured losses of $10,000 or 1% of the annual operating budget, whichever is higher. The state public assistance program are grants to eligible entities to assist communities responding to and recovering from disasters or emergencies for the following purposes only: debris clearance, emergency protective measures, roads and bridges, crisis counseling, and assistance with public transportation needs.
“We are continuing the partnership with the impacted jurisdictions on damage assessment. We want to be deliberate and thorough on the analysis so that we can access all programs available to support those impacted by this major event. As we have with other recent incidents such as the Sparta earthquake or Tropical Storm Fred, we look first at federal recovery programs, then state recovery programs based on established criteria in statute, and then work with Executive and Legislative leadership to request an unmet needs recovery package. We remain committed to supporting those communities impacted by this tornado with all of the available tools or resources we have,” said William Ray, Director of North Carolina Emergency Management.
North Carolina Emergency Management, the Department of Public Safety, and the Office of State Budget and Management have identified some initial state funding to support the jurisdictions for initial debris removal, but there are significant unmet needs on private property debris removal, housing support, and home repairs, as well as damage to agriculture settings. North Carolina Emergency Management is working with local officials to prepare these assessments and expect that a comprehensive recovery request will be available for legislators in coming days.