Helene disaster declaration expands to Mecklenburg County, VP Kamala Harris says in NC

Mecklenburg County is now part of the federal disaster declaration issued in the wake of Hurricane Helene, unlocking more aid for homeowners impacted by the storm.

Vice President Kamala Harris announced the designation Saturday while in Charlotte to meet with state and local officials about the recovery from Helene, which last week made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane.

Downgraded to a tropical storm when it reached North Carolina, it still brought widespread flooding, wind damage and power outages across much of the state, with areas in Western North Carolina bearing the brunt.

Mecklenburg wasn’t among the 25 counties included in the federal declaration initially — meaning the federal government wouldn’t have helped with home repairs, temporary housing, property damage or other expenses in the same way as communities to the west.

That drew the ire of residents and leaders in north Mecklenburg, where flooding along the Catawba River near Mountain Island Lake damaged multiple homes.

“All the water from the mountains makes its way here, or a significant amount,” County Commissioner Elaine Powell said previously. “I feel like a lot of people forgot, and it makes sense, there’s so much trauma in Western North Carolina ... but this neighborhood was underwater, and four houses went down the Catawba River.”

Now, individuals in that neighborhood and the rest of the county can apply for federal aid. Additional public assistance will also be available to state and local governments.

“We’re going to be getting substantial resources in to help folks,” Harris said Saturday.

Also announced Saturday: $100 million in federal funding to repair and reopen roads and bridges damaged by Helene in Western North Carolina.

But some Charlotte-area counties — Iredell, Rowan, Stanly and Union — are still left out of the disaster declaration, according to FEMA’s website. Those were among counties Gov. Roy Cooper included in his initial request that weren’t included in FEMA’s declaration.

FEMA officials briefed Harris at a Charlotte National Guard base Saturday afternoon on their recovery efforts. She was joined by state and local officials including the mayors of Charlotte and Asheville, Gov. Roy Cooper, state Attorney General Josh Stein and U.S. Reps. Alma Adams and Jeff Jackson.

Harris praised residents and leaders for their response, saying she’s heard stories “about strangers who are helping each other out, giving people assistance in every way that they need, including shelter, food, and friendship, and fellowship.”

“I think that these moments of crisis bring out some of the best of who we can be and who we are,” she said.

Harris also met with National Guard soldiers who’ve responded to the storm and helped prepare care packages to send west with the NC Counts Coalition, a nonprofit that’s been sending food, water and hygiene supplies to some of the state’s hardest hit areas.

Observer reporter Nora O’Neill contributed to this report.

This story was originally published October 5, 2024 at 8:42 PM.

Mary Ramsey

The Charlotte Observer

Mary Ramsey is the local government accountability reporter for The Charlotte Observer. A native of the Carolinas, she studied journalism at the University of South Carolina and has also worked in Phoenix, Arizona and Louisville, Kentucky. Support my work with a digital subscription