We’ll get through this, but we’ll need help
Jack Snyder photo
We’ve had more than a week of picture-perfect fall days, usually a part of the recipe for a busy, successful tourist season. But there’s an unshakeable uneasiness among the business community since Helene, and especially in Haywood County. I hope elected leaders take note.
Sure, other communities further east were hit harder than us as homes and businesses in Buncombe, Polk, Yancey, Madison, Mitchell and other counties were devastated. Here in Haywood there was severe damage in Canton and Clyde, along with parts of Bethel and Cruso. Five people from Haywood perished in this storm. In all of Western North Carolina the death toll is at 95 and expected to climb a bit higher.
Estimates are up to 600 homes were damaged in Haywood, about 200 of them severely. So, let’s say 200 times $300,000 is $60 million, and then the other 400 are going to need help. There’s a lot of work to do to help these people and a lot of federal and state aid will be needed.
Then there’s the Interstate 40 closure, which could prove devastating — and costly — on the long term. Before Helene, that road averaged around 28,500 vehicles a day and was a principal travel and tourism corridor into Western North Carolina. Imagine the loss of all those travelers on the business community. It’s estimated that total annual retail sales in Haywood are about $1 billion. County leaders — after looking back and assessing the effects of the 2009 landslide that closed the interstate for 7 months — fear as much as $200 million of that could be lost annually until the interstate opens. Right now, the state Department of Transportation is using the word “years” when discussing how long it may be until the road is totally open. Years.
The Blue Ridge Parkway closure is also a severe blow, but hopefully it will re-open much sooner. No details yet on that front, but that scenic byway, according to a recent report, has a $1.4 billion annual economic impact to the counties it goes through in North Carolina and Virginia.
Several business owners I’ve talked to are more than a little worried. Yes, there will be federal aid for rebuilding, but typically lost revenue can’t be recouped from FEMA. The Small Business Administration is offering loans, but here’s the reality: many are still indebted to the SBA for the Covid-era Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) in the tens of thousands of dollars.
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So local businesses are in for a multi-pronged negative economic impact: Helene rebuilding costs, the loss of October sales revenues, the long-term losses associated with the closure of I-40 and other roads, and the fact that many are still in debt due to the Covid shutdowns that started in March 2020 and lingered for a year or so.
I’m usually a glass half full person, always looking on the upside when possible. But this one’s got me worried about the small business community that makes this such a special place to live and work. Here’s Canton Mayor Zeb Smathers, who’s been working closely with local business owners:
“Federal and state recovery plans must include direct grant assistance for small businesses,” said Smathers in an Oct. 16 Facebook post. “Loans may be part of the solution, but most small businesses — especially those that have already weathered Covid and another disaster three years ago — cannot take on more debt, no matter how favorable the terms.”
We’ll get through this and make WNC stronger than ever. But we’ll need lots of help.
(Scott McLeod can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..)
