After Brevard-based Domokur + Associates outlined a plan to complete design and construction management services for rebuilding and renovating several cabins at Camp Hope, which was heavily damaged during flooding from Tropical Storm Fred in 2021. The Town of Canton is poised to take another step toward restoring one of its most cherished public spaces. 

Hurricane Helene may not have been so devastating for Western North Carolina were it not for the half foot of rain that dumped on the region just ahead of Sept. 27, 2024. Getting ahead of what promised to be a monumental disaster, on the afternoon of Sept. 26, only about 12 hours before flooding began in some WNC communities, the National Weather Service office in upstate South Carolina issued the following statement: 

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has awarded a total of $3 million to two local partners in Haywood County to support ongoing recovery efforts from Hurricane Helene and to strengthen the region’s resilience to future storms. 

Last Thursday afternoon, dark storm clouds overtook downtown Canton. Sitting on a couch in the Cold Mountain Art Collective on Adams Street, Hannah Burnisky gazes out at the raindrops sliding down the large front windows of the business. 

Updated Feb. 18

early $6 million in taxpayer money will be coming back to Haywood County after Attorney General Jeff Jackson and Gov. Josh Stein announced that a settlement has been reached in a lawsuit alleging that Pactiv Evergreen had violated the terms of a decade-old economic development grant agreement when it closed its Canton paper mill in 2023.

Lost in the aftermath of the damage Hurricane Helene dealt to Canton is the fact that when the storm hit on Sept. 27, the town still hadn’t fully recovered from deadly flooding in 2021. But on Oct. 24, Mayor Zeb Smathers and Canton’s governing board approved critical next steps for four projects related to Tropical Storm Fred and critical to the town’s future.

The first of eight planned new river gauges will be installed in Haywood County this week. When complete the project will greatly enhance Haywood County Emergency Services’ ability to monitor upstream river levels. 

UPDATED April 29: NCORR has received over the program budget in interested applicants for the Homeowners Assistance Program. NCORR is pausing the application to ensure current applicants were eligible and submitted all required documentation.

The N.C. Office of Recovery and Resiliency (NCORR) is supporting Haywood County in the April 22 launch of its Homeownership Assistance Program (HAP) to assist homebuyers displaced by Tropical Storm Fred or first-time homebuyers that are income qualified. 

When Canton officials and administrators met for their annual budget retreat last year, Town Manager Nick Scheuer’s presentation was riddled with question marks — signs of uncertainty after widespread flooding caused more than $18 million in damages to town infrastructure and killed six.  

The town that refuses to stay down made another big move toward getting back on its feet last week, selecting architects who will design replacements for municipal buildings that were damaged or destroyed during flooding in August 2021.