CHARLOTTE — Tourists spent a record $36.7 billion on trips last year, and every North Carolina county will benefit from the money spent. Gov. Josh Stein says the state’s tourism sector held strong after Hurricane Helene, but he wants more help from FEMA.
Stein is frustrated with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for denying North Carolina’s latest request for help. He says the total cost of the storm is about $60 billion, and that cost will be too much to bear without help from the federal government.
So far, more than 12 million cubic yards of debris have been removed from roads and waterways, and while that sounds like a lot, Stein says it’s just the tip of the iceberg in the journey to restore western North Carolina.
“We have so much more work to do, and it’s going to cost a lot, up to $2 billion to fully clean the roads and waterways in western North Carolina,” Stein said.
That’s why the governor asked FEMA to cover up to 100% of the cleanup costs past the first 180 days, similar to what FEMA did with Hurricanes Ike, Katrina, and Maria.
FEMA denied that request. Stein appealed. Last week, FEMA denied the appeal, saying the request “is not warranted,” despite Helene being one of the deadliest and costliest hurricanes in U.S. history.
That means 10% of the cleanup cost will fall on the state.
“That means quite frankly it will cost North Carolina taxpayers a lot more to clean up western North Carolina 1:20 and debris removal is just one of the many categories we need to help western North Carolina get back on its feet,” Stein said. “The sad reality is this: the more money North Carolina has to spend on debris removal and other types of cleanup ... that’s less money we will have for other categories of relief.”
Stein says his office is still pushing for more funding at the state and federal level.
(VIDEO: ‘Monumental’: Campground celebrates post-Helene reopening)
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