Haywood County takes stock, plots post-Helene recovery
Haywood County Emergency Management Coordinator Zack Koonce briefs commissioners on storm recovery on Nov. 18. Haywood County photo
Solid numbers on damage from Hurricane Helene are finally coming into Haywood County, along with a state plan to repurpose federal funds that will help speed recovery.
Zack Koonce, Haywood County’s emergency management coordinator, told county commissioners Nov. 18 that more than 954 structures had been affected when Helene entered the region on Sept. 27, with 57 structures destroyed outright and another 152 suffering substantial damage that would necessitate full compliance with flood standards if rebuilt (see Helene damage coming into focus in Waynesville).
The numbers include not only county land proper, but also all municipalities except for Canton, where damage assessments are not yet final.
Currently, the county is working through 523 submissions for help with private bridges, culverts and roads, of which 343 have already been validated. Some of the submissions were made by multiple homeowners sharing the same bridge or road, so it’s not likely there will need to be 523 validations.
The documented damage information, Koonce said, has been shared with FEMA, North Carolina Emergency Management and disaster survivor assistance teams still operating in the county.
Koonce reported that 89 bridges, 75 culverts and 88 roads were inspected, and that FEMA has been approved to offer individual assistance for such private infrastructure at a maximum of $42,500. Each homeowner can apply for assistance and pool their awards together on rebuilding.
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With the immediate needs of the region largely under control, the National Guard, which had been assisting with welfare checks and aid distribution, finally left town last Wednesday. Haywood County’s call center is still open and averaging 25 calls a day, after already receiving more than 1,500.
As of Nov. 19, more than 10,800 cubic yards of storm debris had been removed, not including figures from municipalities.
“If you were to try to visualize that, it would be about three Olympic swimming pools, or if we took it and dumped it all on a football field, it would cover the football field about 5 feet high,” Koonce said.
FEMA is still operating the disaster recovery center at the Regional High Tech Center, along with disaster survivor assistance teams. As of Nov. 18, more than 8,798 valid registrations had been received there, with an average of 40 new people visiting the site each day. More than $12.7 million in individual assistance has already been disbursed, with 16 people receiving the maximum $42,500 grant.
Ross McGregor, a pastor at the Orchard Church, told commissioners that more than 20,000 people had been served by at least 3,000 volunteers at the six aid distribution sites that sprang up in the aftermath of the storm. Orchard stepped into the role of coordinating the sites in conjunction with the towns of Canton, Clyde and Maggie Valley.
Additionally, the distribution sites were able to help more than 150 groups or agencies supply their own constituents or members.
“We recognized that these distribution centers were really just hubs where other community centers that were out in harder to reach areas were able to come and load up and be resourced so they could distribute out to their communities,” McGregor said.
With impact to housing stock a major concern, the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency presented commissioners with a proposal to designate some as-yet unused federal monies from Tropical Storm Fred, which hit eastern parts of the county in 2021, for Helene recovery.
Previously, the feds awarded $13,186,000 to NCORR for Fred recovery. Of that, $11,626,700 was appropriated specifically for Haywood County, which in turn earmarked $10,526,700 for affordable housing development and $1.1 million for homeownership assistance.
To date, the county has awarded funds to two affordable projects — $3.5 million to an 84-unit multifamily apartment complex developed by Mountain Housing Opportunities called Balsam Edge, and a little under $2.5 million for a single-family home ownership development project by Mountain Projects at Harkins Avenue.
That means there’s about $4 million of the Fred money still available. After talks with the county about Helene’s impact, NCORR is proposing the money be used to fund housing recovery initiatives.
“We are calling this proposal the ‘rapid recovery fund,’ and it will allow us to instead of holding those dollars back for future affordable housing development fund projects, we can use those dollars for other potential projects at the county’s discretion,” said Tracey Colores, community development director for NCORR.
The funds can be used for single-family owner-occupied and small rental rehabilitation or reconstruction, manufactured home replacement, buyouts of damaged properties or the acquisition of new housing for permanent relocations.
In accordance with the law, NCORR has already published the plan and must submit it to the Department of Housing and Urban Development after a 30-day public comment period. After that, it could take up to 45 days for HUD to review the plan, but HUD has expressed interest in expediting that timeline.
“We are optimistic that it will not take 45 days after the public comment period ends for us to hear back from our partners in Washington,” Colores said.
Learn more
Haywood County will hold the last of two community information events to connect people directly with key agencies involved in recovery efforts. Representatives will be available from developmental services, the soil & water/agricultural extension office, the hazard mitigation program, Mountain Projects, Department of Health & Human Services, the Haywood Chamber of Commerce, FEMA, Baptists on Mission, Pisgah Legal and more. No registration is necessary.
Time: 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Date: Wednesday, Nov. 20
Location: Main Auditorium, Haywood Community College 185 Freedlander Drive, Clyde,
