WPTF News

RALEIGH, N.C. (WPTF) — North Carolina legislators returned to work Thursday to address further relief efforts following the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene, but Senate president Phil Berger doesn’t expect any action on Governor Cooper’s $3.9 billion request for disaster relief. State lawmakers approved an initial $270 million relief package last month, but Berger said he expects lawmakers will approve additional funding for Helene recovery efforts. However, he cautioned against rushing to spend all the state’s reserves so soon. Berger criticized Gov. Cooper’s administration for failing to get aid to Hurricane Matthew and Florence victims, including some people who lost their homes in 2016.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina officials say the catastrophic flooding and destruction from Hurricane Helene likely caused at least $53 billion in damages and recovery needs in the state. Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration generated the preliminary figure in a report released Wednesday that also includes Cooper’s request to the General Assembly for $3.9 billion. The request was disclosed the day before the legislature planned to meet for a one-day session to advance additional Helene recovery legislation. Cooper says the previous record for storm damage in North Carolina was $17 billion after Hurricane Florence in 2018.

HOT SPRINGS, N.C. (AP) — Elections officials, poll workers and voters in western North Carolina have been adapting in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene’s destruction. The storm destroyed roads, bridges and homes, and left communities without power and water. Despite the widespread destruction, election workers have rallied to set up polling sites and help voters cast ballots during the early voting period in the crucial presidential battleground. Turnout during last week’s first day of early in-person voting set a record, and more than 1.3 million people have cast ballots since then. Many election workers and voters in a hard-hit Democratic-leaning county and others in a Republican-leaning one expressed a gritty determination to make sure voters’ voices are heard.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A sheriff’s office statement and data from the state show that the North Carolina county that is home to Asheville overcounted deaths caused by Helene by as many as 30. The information in the statement on Tuesday significantly reduces the death toll from the historic storm. Buncombe County officials had previously reported 72 deaths and are now deferring to a state tally of 42 deaths for the county. The county’s number dates back to an Oct. 3 news release and briefing by Sheriff Quentin Miller. But state officials, relying on reviews by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Raleigh, have consistently reported a number lower than that for the county.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Officials say federal disaster workers have resumed door-to-door visits as part of hurricane recovery efforts in North Carolina. The visits were temporarily suspended after reports emerged over the weekend that Federal Emergency Management Agency employees could be targeted by a militia members. The government response to Hurricane Helene has become a rampant subject of disinformation. A sheriff’s office says one man was arrested in connection with the investigation into threats, but that suspect acted alone. FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell says the agency isn’t going anywhere. She and Gov. Roy Cooper called on people to stop spreading falsehoods about the recovery efforts so that people who need help can get it.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Small Business Administration has run out of money for its disaster assistance loans, delaying much needed relief for people applying for aid in the wake of the destruction caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. The SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans to businesses and people affected by disasters. The organization said earlier this month that it expected to soon run out of funding. Congress can approve more funds, but doesn’t reconvene until after the election. The SBA is pausing new loan offers until it gets more funding. SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman said people should keep applying for the loans, however.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Officials say federal disaster workers paused and then changed some of their hurricane-recovery efforts in North Carolina, including abandoning door-to-door visits, after receiving threats. The threats that they could be targeted by a militia emerged over the weekend, at a time when the government response to Helene is being targeted by rampant disinformation. The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office said it received a call about a man with an assault rifle who commented about possibly harming employees of the Federal Emergency Management Agency working in the hard-hit areas of Lake Lure and Chimney Rock, in the North Carolina mountains. The man was later arrested charged with a misdemeanor.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has signed the state’s first relief package to address Hurricane Helene’s devastation. The bill signed Thursday allocates $273 million for immediate needs and gives flexibility to agencies and displaced residents in western counties. The Republican-dominated legislature approved the measure unanimously the day before. Nearly all the money will be used to meet the federal government’s match for state and local disaster assistance programs. Other provisions help nutrition workers in closed schools. The money is coming from the state’s large savings reserve. The bill also changes how upcoming elections are conducted in 25 counties. More Helene relief legislation could advance in two weeks.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina legislators have approved an initial $273 million relief package to help address Hurricane Helene’s devastation and recovery in the mountains. The unanimous House and Senate passage on Wednesday came less than two weeks after Helene’s historical rainfall caused catastrophic damage and loss of life. Repubilcan legislative leaders who helped craft the measure described it as a down payment on aid. The bill also mostly follows rule alterations for conducting elections and turning in ballots that were approved unanimously Monday by the State Board of Elections for 13 western counties. But it would now cover 25 counties. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and the board offered input for the bill.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Emergency Management Agency has been fighting misinformation since Helene slammed into Florida nearly two weeks ago. The false claims are being fueled by former President Donald Trump and others just ahead of the presidential election, and are coming as the agency is gearing up to respond to a second major disaster. Hurricane Milton is set to strike Florida on Wednesday. The FEMA administrator told reporters Tuesday that she’s never seen the disinformation problem as bad as it’s been with Helene. A county official in North Carolina says part of the problem is that affected regions have been largely without phone lines and internet, so outside voices have an easier time setting the narrative.