Helene: Half dozen state temporary housing units still occupied 200 days later

By Alan Wooten
The Center Square

Six state temporary housing units are still occupied as western North Carolina continues to get on its feet from Hurricane Helene, the state auditor’s office says.

Two are in McDowell County, and there is one each in Ashe, Avery, Haywood and Watauga counties.

The 29th week of recovery began over the weekend. State leaders and congressional representatives are continuing to request funding from Washington and Raleigh for what is arguably the state’s worst natural disaster.

The storm, which came ashore in Florida on Sept. 26, dissipated over the mountains of three states and left 107 dead and an estimated $60 billion damage in the Tarheel State. Monday marked 200 days since the hurricane, according to the auditor’s dashboard.

The analysis says 6,930 households “indicated a housing need and were determined to be eligible for housing assistance.” This is the number of total housed (2,727), seeking assistance (503) and not utilizing assistance households (3,700).

The number housed represents eligible for FEMA rental assistance or FEMA transitional sheltering assistance. Seeking assistance means these households are in need but not marked eligible for rental or transitional specifically; the households may be utilizing another form of shelter, the report says.

The number not utilizing assistance means the households are eligible for rental or transitional and chose not to use it.

Buncombe County, where Asheville is the county seat, was among the hardest hit regions. Nearly one-third (870) of the report’s 2,727 total housed is from the county. There are 727 of those on rental assistance, and the remaining 143 utilizing hotels. The county’s seeking assistance number, as of April 12, is 131.