North Carolina lawmakers convene again to address Hurricane Helene's billions in damages

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina state legislators returning to work Thursday to consider further Hurricane Helene relief have received an estimate of the monetary scope of the catastrophic flooding and what Gov. Roy Cooper wants them to spend soon on recovery efforts.

The Republican-dominated General Assembly scheduled a one-day session to consider additional funding and legislation four weeks after Helene tore across the Southeast and into the western North Carolina mountains.

Earlier this month, lawmakers unanimously approved — and Cooper signed — an initial relief bill that included $273 million, mostly the state’s matching share to meet federal requirements for disaster assistance programs. Lawmakers said it would be the first of many actions they would take to address the storm.

North Carolina state officials have reported 96 deaths from Helene, which brought historic levels of rain and flooding to the mountains in late September.

Thursday's session comes one day after Cooper, a Democrat, unveiled his request to legislators to locate $3.9 billion to help pay for repairs and revitalization. The request was included in a report from his Office of State Budget and Management, which calculated that Helene likely caused at least a record $53 billion in damages and recovery needs in western North Carolina.

Cooper said on Wednesday that the state’s previous record for storm damage was $17 billion from Hurricane Florence, which struck eastern North Carolina in 2018.

State government coffers include several billon dollars that can be accessed for future recovery spending. Almost $4.5 billion is in the state’s savings reserve alone.

Cooper's request includes $475 million for a grant recovery program for businesses in the hardest-hit areas; $325 million to help homeowners and renters quickly with rebuilding and minor repairs; $225 million for grants to farmers for uninsured losses; and $100 million for public school and community college capital needs.

Agricultural and residential losses are expected to be particularly acute in the damaged areas because few growers were covered by crop insurance and homeowners by flood insurance.

According to the budget office, the storm and its aftermath caused 1,400 landslides and damaged over 160 water and sewer systems, at least 6,000 miles (9,650 kilometers) of roads, more than 1,000 bridges and culverts and an estimated 126,000 homes.