Much of Tropical Storm Fred relief money remains untouched as western NC regroups after Helene

As people in the western part of North Carolina try to put their lives back together following Hurricane Helene, a WRAL Investigation found some of those hit by another tropical system three years ago are still waiting for major help.

FEMA awarded $13 million in relief to Haywood County, just outside of Asheville. Several people died when the remnants of Tropical Storm Fred hit in 2021. WRAL Investigates found that money to help people find new housing is almost completely untouched.

In the small town of Canton on the banks of the Pigeon River, we found the faith is still flowing. “I have faith in God and I believe he will make this right,” resident Donella Pressley told us. For the second time in three years, she and her two girls lost almost everything.

Their home was also hit three years ago in Tropical Storm Fred—one of 700 homes impacted in Haywood County by flooding. Six people died.

While FEMA did quickly provide funding for homeowners and renters for immediate, short-term repairs and rental assistance, longer-term funding promised to residents has yet to show up.

From state records, WRAL Investigates found thirteen million in Fred relief money for Haywood County that is still almost completely untouched.  For the Homeownership Assistance Program, Rebuild NC says Haywood County spent $73 thousand. That’s less than 1% of the total allotment. The county hasn’t submitted an invoice yet to be reimbursed, so all of that pot of money is still in the bank.

We also found no money has been allocated in the Affordable Housing Development Fund.

We asked Rebuild NC to provide a timeline for the grant. The agency says it submitted its action plan for the money, to the government, in August of 2022– a year after the storm. HUD approved the plan 8 months later.  It took another year to launch a home ownership assistance program, which happened in April of this year. Just this past July, the state says it found developers for new, affordable housing. We drove down the street where those new homes are supposed to go. Ground still hasn’t been broke .

WRAL has reported on issues with Rebuild NC in previous investigations surrounding relief money for Hurricanes Matthew and Florence. The agency was also the focus of a WRAL Documentary called “Aftermath.” Lawmakers have also criticized the agency for its slow progress in helping hurricane victims.

We asked Rebuild NC about the Haywood County money. By email, a spokesperson wrote “…it is important to note that these funds are for long-term disaster recovery” and “..involve detailed planning and program design efforts to help avoid catastrophic effects in the future.”

Those impacted by the storm are expecting a repeat performance. “I feel like it’s going to happen again, Bob Stansell told us. He’s not confident in getting help to fix his house this time around.

“I hope we get something. But our foot and a half of water is a drop in the bucket compared to what a lot of the people out here are dealing with,” he told us.

Pressley says there plenty of need beyond her family, “I’m sure lots of people could use some of that money.”

She had issues applying for aid after Fred, but she’s not concerned about what was or wasn’t given. “I’m from an era you fix things for yourself and you don’t really get handouts,” she explained. At this point she’s focused on the good like the friends and total strangers who came to help.  Pressley’s also relying on her faith, “You just pray and you know the good lord will take you where you’re supposed to be.”

We went back and analyzed the latest data about funding from Hurricanes Florence and Matthew. We found that at best it’s taking about two years for any of this money from Rebuild NC to go out to those in need. The spending reports also appeared to show the second storm complicated recovery efforts and slowed down the process.