Wayne is approved for FEMA trailers
By Rochelle Moore
Published in News on November 4, 2016 10:48 AM
Wayne County residents displaced by Hurricane Matthew will be able to receive temporary housing assistance, including manufactured homes, that will be hauled into the area in the coming months.
Gov. Pat McCrory announced late Thursday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency approved temporary housing - which also includes rental housing, apartments and hotels - for Wayne, Columbus, Edgecombe and Robeson counties. Additional counties could be approved within days, McCrory said.
The manufactured housing will bring relief to many people who remain at American Red Cross shelters nearly a month after the storm.
Statewide, 240 people are staying at four shelters, and more than 1,700 people are living in temporary housing, McCrory said.
In Wayne County, 53 people are still living in the School Street School shelter, said Mel Powers, Wayne County Office of Emergency Services director.
"Moving people out of shelters and into temporary and permanent housing continues to be one of our immediate priorities," McCrory said. "As our weather continues to be pretty, sunny and hot, many people are still facing dire circumstances in our state, and we will continue to do all we can to help them recover."
FEMA has secured 165 manufactured homes and others are on the way to North Carolina. Federal and local officials say it will take time before eligible families are contacted and approved.
"Once the program is approved, FEMA starts making phone calls to determine what people's housing needs are," said Mike Wade, FEMA spokesperson. "It doesn't happen overnight. Getting the program up and running is not an immediate type of thing.
"We are just in the beginning stages of getting that program off the ground."
Properties in Wayne County need to be identified, and FEMA will work with local officials to ensure the homes are set on properties outside of the floodplain and in line with area zoning rules, Wade said. The sites will also need to have access to utilities, including water, sewer and electric service.
The manufactured housing is fully furnished, and residents are able to stay in the units up to 18 months, Wade said. The housing viewed as a temporary form of relief with the end goal of finding a more permanent housing alternative.
"We will be pushing them to find a housing solution," Wade said. "We push people to find their permanent housing solution."
Powers also said the process will take time as local officials coordinate the process, including finding suitable property sites, with FEMA.
"It does take some time," Powers said. "It's a process and we want everybody to be patient. It's a long process."
McCrory has also requested manufactured housing for Carteret, Perquimans, Scotland, Richmond, Anson, Chatham and Northampton counties. Finding temporary housing in some of the hardest-hit areas has presented challenges as many hotels and rental homes in affected communities were flooded, McCrory said.
Wayne County residents can continue to apply for federal grants at the FEMA disaster recovery center, at the W.A. Foster Center, at 1012 S. John St., Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Residents can also apply by phone at 1-800-621-3362.
The disaster recovery center opened on Oct. 19 and during the past two weeks, FEMA has accepted 5,304 applications and provided more than $6.2 million in grants to Wayne County residents, Wade said.
Across North Carolina, 63,323 people have applied for FEMA assistance and $62.4 million in grants has been provided, Wade said.