Wayne to share in disaster funding
By From staff reports
Published in News on January 27, 2017 10:00 AM
Wayne and three other of the counties hardest hit by Hurricane Matthew will benefit from nearly $159 million in federal grant funding.
The recovery funds will help communities with housing, economic development, infrastructure and efforts to prevent further damage.
The funding is through Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Gov. Roy Cooper Thursday afternoon announced that the state will receive more than $198 million with the nearly $159 million earmarked for Wayne, Robeson, Cumberland and Edgecombe counties.
"These counties suffered some of the worst flooding in North Carolina's history and they need our help to recover and rebuild," Cooper said. "Our top priorities are making sure people have safe housing and access to essential services, and this grant will help meet those needs."
The remaining approximately $39 million will go to address disaster recovery in the state's other 46 disaster-declared counties.
HUD awarded the grants based on North Carolina's unmet housing and infrastructure needs, which considers the cost to repair seriously damaged properties and infrastructure in the most-impacted counties.
No specific amounts have been earmarked for any of the counties, said Julia Jarema, a spokesman for North Carolina Emergency Services, told the News-Argus.
"We will be working with the counties on what the unmet needs are at this point," she said. "We will work together to figure out the best use of the money -- how can we most efficiently use it to help everyone recover.
"We will work with counties on how to allocate funds."
Possible applications for funding include:
• Rehabilitating storm-damaged homes and buildings.
• Buying damaged properties in flood plains and relocating residents to safer areas.
• Temporary housing for people and businesses displaced by the disaster.
• Helping businesses keep or create jobs.
• Building or rehabilitating public streets, neighborhood centers, and water, sewer and drainage systems.
• Down payment assistance, interest rate subsidies and loan guarantees to help disaster victims buy their own homes.
• Debris removal not covered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
"Hurricane Matthew hit us hard, but North Carolinians are resilient," Cooper said. "These funds will give families and communities resources to repair homes, rebuild streets and get back to work."
The $198 million federal grant was awarded this week following a request for additional financial assistance.
The state has been notified of the grant, but has not yet received the funds, Ms. Jarema said.
The funds are in addition to the $4.5 million federal grant awarded last week to match trained case managers with Hurricane Matthew survivors to help them navigate the long and often complicated recovery process.
As of today, 81,629 households across the 50 disaster-designated counties have registered for FEMA assistance.
Survivors are encouraged to monitor the status of their cases and to update their contact information when changes occur.
This can be done by visiting fema.gov/disaster/4285 or calling the toll-free FEMA helpline at 800-621-FEMA.