Feds Fund Less Than 1% Of Hurricane Matthew Needs

RALEIGH -Less than one percent of the funding requested by North Carolina leaders for Hurricane Matthew recovery will be funded.

N.C. Governor Roy Cooper has written President Donald J. Trump and others requesting help after $6.1 million of a $900 million request was funded.

Gov. Cooper said he worked with Republican Senator Thom Tillis and Representatives David Price (D-4th) and David Rouzer (R-7th) to compile a list of unmet needs resulting form the historic damage done to eastern North Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Matthew.

"I write to express shock and disappointment in the lack of federal funding for Hurricane Matthew recovery efforts in North Carolina, and to encourage you to prioritize North Carolina's urgent request for help," Gov. Cooper wrote in a letter to President Trump, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, Senate Majority Leader Mitchell McConnell and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan.

The governor reminded the leaders that Hurricane Matthew devastated homes, businesses and entire towns "with torrential rains, causing 1,000-year ftooding and washing away communities in the central and eastern regions of our state."

He continued, "North Carolina is steadily recovering, but too many people still can't go back to their homes or return to of-ftces, schools, farms or places of worship due to water damage, debris, mildew and road closures. More than 82,000 households have registered with FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) for help. Families displaced by the storm remain in hotels, due in part to lack of rental and low-income housing."

He reminded the President, Secretary Carson and the Congressional leadership the proposal was put together by members of both parties along with state recovery experts. The governor said the request was for $929,403,389 in federal funding.

Most of the funding request was for block grants for housing, public buildings and infrastructure, which Gov. Cooper called "our state's most critical and immediate needs."

"But the result, just $6.1 million in disaster relief funding for North Carolina, was shockingly less than the need," he wrote.

The governor said Congress has historically aided communities in need from natural disaster, and urged them to do so in North Carolina.

"When a disaster hits our nation, Congress has in the past heeded the call from elected representatives in affected regions," Gov. Cooper wrote. "I ask that you and the leadership in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate prioritize the economic and humanitarian needs of North Carolina as you prepare your budget recommendations for Congress.

"I invite you to visit North Carolina and see the devastating impacts of this disaster ftrst hand," he continued. "Our citizens and communities are struggling, and will only be able to make a full recovery with the aid of much needed federal assistance."

North Carolina's federal unmet requests included:

* Housing Repairs -$166.6 million to help homeowners with repairs, $63.7 million to repair rental housing and $15.2 million to repair public housing;

* Housing Elevation -$434 million for buyout, elevation and reconstruction of 3,962 properties that "ooded during Matthew and are at risk for future "ooding;

* Agriculture -$92.6 million to cover losses for farmers not covered by the USDA such as livestock, farm equipment and feed;

* Public Facilities -$43 million to repair public facilities to retroftt infrastructure like storm drains and sewer lines to prevent future damage;

* Small Business -$39 million to help 691 small businesses; and

* Health -$37 million to support health and mental health services for storm survivors and to help with repairs to health care facilities, child care centers and social services agencies.