Hurricane Helene smacked western North Carolina incredibly hard, causing deaths, unexpectedly severe damage and visuals of raging rivers that seemed unbelievable.
Yet anyone who knows North Carolina realized that the response would be fiercer than anything that Mother Nature could muster. North Carolinians, businesses and nonprofits have raised millions of dollars and facilitated hands-on efforts to support thousands of people affected by the storm. By mid-October, many mountain towns were inviting wary visitors to return, hoping to spur activity in the critical fall tourism season, and some charitable groups said they had sufficient supplies.
The outpouring of aid reflects the incredible pride that residents have in our state, particularly a region with an international appeal because of its
natural beauty.
Every emergency forces tough long-term decisions on how to respond, but Helene seems particularly challenging given the storm’s scope and the region’s topography, U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis said in late October. The lack of insurance coverage for most affected residents and rising costs for labor and construction materials also make things particularly complex.
“You are talking about a disaster area that is the size of Massachusetts, with a couple of dozen areas hit extraordinarily hard and on the brink of not coming back,” Tillis says. “When you have a storm impacting coastal regions, the geography is somewhat prepared for rebuilding. But the mountains are not.”
Thorny engineering problems include repairing Interstate 40 and dealing with creeks and rivers that have shifted channels, the senator notes.
Hurricane Helene and the subsequent Hurricane Milton, which mainly affected Florida, are expected to be the sixth and seventh hurricanes that have created at least $50 billion in damages in the U.S. over the past seven years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Helene’s damage may top $100 billion, most of which will not be borne by insurance companies because so few people buy flood policies, a senior Aon insurance executive told The Associated Press.
Indeed, fewer than 1% of property owners in the 25 counties included in the Hurricane Helene federal disaster declaration have flood insurance coverage, according to the N.C. Insurance Department. Homeowner insurance usually covers damage from wind, but
not floods.
“If it rains at your house, you need flood insurance,“ N.C. Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey likes to say. He says coverage “may be quite affordable” in low-risk flood zones, which presumably would include much of the mountain region.
But his efforts to promote more flood insurance purchases since 2018, when Hurricane Florence hit eastern North Carolina very hard, have been ineffective. In addition to the national program, the state’s private option has signed up only one insurer that
offers policies.
The record amount of people and structures in the mountains also compounds the disaster’s impact. The population of three of western North Carolina’s most populous counties, Buncombe, Henderson and Watauga, has increased by more than 30% since 2000, adding nearly 115,000 people.
“You won’t see it depopulate. That part of the state is growing and will continue to grow,” Tillis says. “It’s a beautiful place with a fantastic change of seasons, and that’s why people are moving there.”
“What will make North Carolina come back is a strong response from our elected officials.”
