Last Updated on September 27, 2026 5:54 am
Two years ago this weekend, Hurricane Helene devastated Western North Carolina. FEMA says its recovery funding for the state has now topped $7.5 billion — and the agency says the work is far from finished.
FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton toured recovery sites across the region this month, including stops in Asheville, Bat Cave, and Lake Lure, meeting with local leaders to check on the progress of more than 3,000 Helene recovery projects. “We're not out of the woods yet, there is still a lot of work to do,” Hamilton said, according to a FEMA press release. “The President was right when he said that Western North Carolina will never be forgotten. The work continues.”
By the Numbers
FEMA's recovery funding for North Carolina includes:
• More than $2.5 billion for roughly 3,000 Helene recovery projects, reimbursing communities for debris removal, infrastructure rebuilding, and other storm-related expenses
• Approximately $254 million through FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program to reduce future disaster losses statewide
• More than $567.9 million awarded to about 161,000 families for home repairs, rent, and other critical needs, including $34.2 million to 12,600 families to help repair private roads and bridges
• More than 16.5 million cubic yards of debris cleared from rights of way, waterways, and private property statewide, including a completed U.S. Army Corps of Engineers debris mission
• $219.5 million paid out in National Flood Insurance Program claims
In the past month alone, FEMA has announced more than $162 million in new recovery funding for North Carolina. That includes an additional $137 million announced Aug. 28 for 114 recovery and mitigation projects, and nearly $33 million announced Sept. 9 for more than 20 additional projects.
Watauga County Named in Flood-Buyout Program
Among the local details: FEMA's Aug. 28 announcement included more than $34 million through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program to acquire nearly 80 flood-prone properties damaged by Helene across several counties — including Watauga, Buncombe, Mecklenburg, Rutherford, Transylvania, and Yancey counties, plus the towns of Belhaven and Bolton. Those properties will be converted into permanent open space to help prevent or reduce future flood damage.
FEMA's Sept. 14 update added that the agency is now awarding nearly $48 million to acquire approximately 135 more flood-prone properties statewide, bringing the total number of properties funded for acquisition to more than 500 since Helene.
Other Federal Support
FEMA noted that other federal agencies have contributed billions more toward North Carolina's recovery:
• The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has awarded $1.4 billion to the state and $225 million to the city of Asheville for long-term recovery
• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has committed more than $700 million for water infrastructure resiliency
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture has contributed more than $1 billion for agricultural losses, farmland repairs, and watershed restoration
• The U.S. Small Business Administration has disbursed nearly $300 million in low-interest disaster loans
• The U.S. Economic Development Administration has awarded $34 million for economic recovery projects in Western North Carolina
Source: FEMA press releases, Aug. 28, Sept. 9, and Sept. 14, 2026.
