In September 2018 Hurricane Florence made landfall as a Category 1 storm along the southerly coast of North Carolina. Within North Carolina alone, the storm left up to three feet of rain in places and a reported 10-foot storm surge. The rain, which resulted in rivers overflowing their banks, flooded more than 2,000 roads, causing near 50 deaths and at least $17 billion in damage.
Federal measures
51 counties in North Carolina were declared disaster areas, making those counties and their residents eligible for federal aid. Within two months of Florence leaving North Carolina, nearly 130,000 individuals registered for Federal Emergency Management Agency (“FEMA”) assistance; over $115 million in individual assistance for homeowners and renters was approved; and nearly 600 businesses received approval for approximately $34 million in small business loans. In addition, the United States Department of Agriculture established an environmental quality incentives program to assist farmers and ranchers to address problems at farms caused by high winds, flood waters and rainfall from Hurricane Florence.
State measures
Within weeks, the State Legislature had approved an $850 million recovery package, which included $400 million set aside for future needs. The rest of the money was used to fund repairs and upgrades to public schools, universities and community college property ($95 million); road repairs and agricultural operations ($50 million); homeowner mortgage assistance or buyouts from flood plains ($23M); and low-income household financial assistance for lost food due to flooding and lack of electricity. The state’s department of agriculture and consumer services created a hotline to connect farmers to agri-businesses to assist with recovery.
County and local measures
Building inspectors working with the state fire marshal’s office coordinated inspection teams to assist with the large need to address building safety. Some counties waived permitting and inspection fees for damage determined to be related to Hurricane Florence.
Rebuilding, debated
The Outer Banks of North Carolina, a popular beach destination that stretches nearly 200 miles, has used federal, state and local funds to replenish its beaches since at least 1933. Reported to be a $2.4 billion economic driver for the state, beaches have frequently been replenished as a mitigation measure, along with redevelopment of damaged beachfront homes and other structures. However, others have argued for some time that replenishment is not a long-term solution and that infrastructure improvements (raising roads, bridges, etc.) will not effectively mitigate long-term damage to the beaches and houses. Further, constructing levees when the ocean view is a “selling point” for vacationers may protect the island chain - but would come at a price, in more than one sense: proving costly while possibly reducing rental and sale values of the properties.
