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SC lays plans to rebuild or repair an estimated 900 homes damaged by Hurricane Helene
Winds from Tropical Storm Helene ripped the roof off this home in Williston, S.C., at 5 a.m. Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, and caused the sunroom and screened-in porch to collapse. (Provided by Emily Wiles)
ANDERSON — South Carolina plans to rebuild or repair an estimated 900 homes damaged by Hurricane Helene.
A state Office of Resilience plan lays out spending for nearly $200 million in federal and state funding set aside in the wake of the massive storm, which swept across the Southeast last September.
Helene marked the deadliest storm in state history, leading to the deaths of 49 people and bringing tropical storm-force winds and heavy rainfall across most of western and central South Carolina.
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To aid in recovery, the Palmetto State will spend more than 80% of the $150 million it received from U.S. Housing and Urban Development on housing.
The lionshare — $110.7 million — will go to repairing and replacing homes, said Disaster Recovery Director Scott Sharpe.
HUD requires the state to spend most, if not all, the federal funds in what it considers the heaviest-hit counties: Greenville, Abbeville, McCormick, Edgefield and Orangeburg.
No more than 20% is allowed to go to residents of Aiken, Saluda, Greenwood, Laurens, Union, Spartanburg, Cherokee, Anderson, Oconnee and Pickens.
Legislators also approved $40 million in the upcoming budget to replenish one of the state's own disaster recovery funds, a portion of which the Resilience Office will use to rebuild homes in impacted counties not eligible for federal dollars.
The state is focusing rebuilding efforts on those families with the greatest financial need, starting with families earning just 30% of the area median income and further prioritizing those with children and elderly or disabled family members, Sharpe said.
In Greenville County, that's less than $29,000 for a family of four. In Orangeburg County, it's an income less than $20,400, according to HUD figures.
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The state will spend up to $225,000 to rebuild a home and up to $75,000 to make repairs not covered by insurance or other financial aid, Sharpe said.
The goal is to make those rebuilt homes more storm resistant. They'll have reinforced roofs and windows resistant to hurricane-force winds. The state also will elevate those in flood plains, Sharpe said.
When it comes to mobile homes, if the homeowner owns the land, the state will replace them with standard, single family homes. If the homeowner leases the lot their mobile home sits on, the state will replace it with a new mobile home.
Once it receives federal approval, the Resilience Office will begin taking applications for federal aid, likely in late August.
The state dollars can be spent sooner, Sharpe said. State recovery officials, known as disaster case managers, have already been gathering a list of eligible homeowners and Sharpe hopes to begin rebuilds on as many as 200 homes in the next few weeks.
Beyond repairs, the state is setting aside $13 million to buy out repeatedly flooded homes.
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And $7.5 million will go to repair rental properties for landlords who agree to keep the rent at an affordable level as set by HUD for at least five years.
Sharpe said Helene heavily impacted renters. Tenants made up roughly 40% of aid applications filed with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Finally, the state is turning to volunteer organizations to help with repairs and stretch the recovery dollars further. Those volunteer groups are often nonprofits that pay for repairs through their own fundraising. They're also eligible for money from the One SC Fund.
The fund was created in 2015 with the backing of then-Gov. Nikki Haley to respond to historic flooding after Hurricane Joaquin stalled off the coast and dumped up to 2 feet of rain on parts of South Carolina. The Central Carolina Community Foundation, which manages the fund, reactivated it in response to Hurricane Matthew in 2016, Hurricane Florence in 2018, the COVID pandemic, and most recently, Hurricane Helene.
The fund raised more than $5 million for recovery efforts following the September storm.
