N.C. Gov. Cooper Announces $198 Million Grant for Hurricane Matthew Recovery

RALEIGH, N.C., Jan. 26 -- The North Carolina Department of Public Safety issued the following news release:

Governor Roy Cooper today announced that North Carolina has received more than $198 million to help families and communities recover from Hurricane Matthew.

Nearly $159 million of the grant funds are specifically earmarked for Robeson, Cumberland, Edgecombe and Wayne counties, which were among the state's hardest-hit areas during Hurricane Matthew.

"These counties suffered some of the worst flooding in North Carolina's history and they need our help to recover and rebuild," Cooper said. "Our top priorities are making sure people have safe housing and access to essential services, and this grant will help meet those needs."

The remaining approximately $39 million will go to address disaster recovery in the other 46 disaster-declared counties in North Carolina.

The funds are Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD awarded the grants based on North Carolina's unmet housing and infrastructure needs, which considers the cost to repair seriously damaged properties and infrastructure in the most-impacted counties.

The recovery funds will help communities hit hard by Hurricane Matthew with housing, economic development, infrastructure and efforts to prevent further damage. Possible applications include:

Rehabilitating storm-damaged homes and buildings

Buying damaged properties in flood plains and relocating residents to safer areas

Temporary housing for people and businesses displaced by the disaster

Helping businesses keep or create jobs

Building or rehabilitating public streets, neighborhood centers, and water, sewer and drainage systems

Down payment assistance, interest rate subsidies and loan guarantees to help disaster victims buy their own homes

Debris removal not covered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

"Hurricane Matthew hit us hard, but North Carolinians are resilient," Cooper said. "These funds will give families and communities resources to repair homes, rebuild streets and get back to work."

The $198 million federal grant was awarded this week following a request for additional financial assistance. The funds are in addition to the $4.5 million federal grant awarded last week to match trained case managers with Hurricane Matthew survivors to help them navigate the long and often complicated recovery process.

As of today, 81,629 households across the 50 disaster-designated counties have registered for FEMA assistance. Survivors are encouraged to monitor the status of their cases and to update their contact information when changes occur. This can be done by visiting fema.gov/disaster/4285 or calling the toll-free FEMA Helpline at 800-621-FEMA.

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