Latest news with #WesternNorthCarolina
Washington Post
19-05-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
North Carolina governor urges state lawmakers to include more Helene aid in upcoming budget
RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein urged state lawmakers Monday to allocate hundreds of millions more dollars toward western North Carolina's ongoing recovery from Hurricane Helene instead of waiting on 'uncertain federal assistance.' The money requested — $891 million — would go toward critical needs in Helene's aftermath, such as revitalizing local economies, repairing town infrastructure and providing housing assistance, Stein said during a news conference in still-recovering western North Carolina. Stein released the Helene proposal as the GOP-led North Carolina General Assembly prepares to finalize its state budget this summer.
Associated Press
19-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
North Carolina governor urges state lawmakers to include more Helene aid in upcoming budget
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein urged state lawmakers Monday to allocate hundreds of millions more dollars toward western North Carolina's ongoing recovery from Hurricane Helene instead of waiting on 'uncertain federal assistance.' The money requested — $891 million — would go toward critical needs in Helene's aftermath, such as revitalizing local economies, repairing town infrastructure and providing housing assistance, Stein said during a news conference in still-recovering western North Carolina. Stein released the Helene proposal as the GOP-led North Carolina General Assembly prepares to finalize its state budget this summer. More than 100 people died as Helene tore through western North Carolina in September, destroying homes, businesses and roadways. The storm's record-breaking devastation totaled $59.6 billion in damages and recovery needs. Recovery has been slow in parts of the region as some hard-hit mountain towns still appear ravaged by the storm nearly eight months later. Navigating Helene recovery is one of the chief issues Stein has been tasked with handling upon his first few months in office. Some of the first actions his administration took focused on rehabilitating the western part of the state, as well as establishing the Governor's Recovery Office for Western North Carolina. 'This recovery is going to take a long time,' Stein said Monday. 'My administration, though, is in this for the long haul. I know that the legislature is as well.' In March, state lawmakers passed another Helene relief bill for $524 million — significantly less than the $1.07 billion Stein had requested the month before. That package added to more than $1.1 billion in Helene recovery activities appropriated or made available by the General Assembly the year prior, according to Stein's office. Last month, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development approved a $1.4 billion grant that would facilitate western North Carolina's long-term recovery. The Federal Emergency Management Agency — the federal organization responsible for addressing some of the immediate needs in Helene's aftermath — has also provided more than $700 million to state and local governments, as well as directly to North Carolinians. Talks over FEMA's effectiveness have ushered western North Carolina's recovery process into the national spotlight as President Donald Trump has suggested the agency's dissolution. As a candidate, Trump continually disparaged the agency's work in the region, which garnered support from those frustrated with a sometimes slow and complicated recovery process. Just last week, the agency's acting chief David Richardson announced plans to shift disaster recovery responsibilities to states for the upcoming hurricane season. Stein has called on the federal government to reform the agency but not to get rid of it, which he reiterated during his budget proposal announcement Monday. More than a quarter of Stein's proposal would go toward restoring local economies and their tourism industries. Another quarter would fund infrastructure repairs, debris cleanup and resiliency projects to better protect the region from future storms. Other allocations include addressing recovery needs such as housing assistance, fixing waterways and farmlands, and food insecurity. The state Senate has already approved its budget proposal and now awaits the House to release its plan this week. Then, state lawmakers can decide whether to incorporate some of Stein's requests on Helene aid as the two chambers work out differences, with the goal of having a final budget enacted by July 1.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
More than 25,000 reported without power in North Carolina
BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C. (WSPA) – Duke Energy reported that more than 25,000 people are without power in Western North Carolina. Duke Energy said that the cause of the outage remains unknown at this time. Most of the outages are located within the Fletcher, Montreat, Black Mountain and Swannanoa areas. Power is expected to return to the area between 9 and 10 p.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Did you feel that? Earthquake rocks Asheville and Western North Carolina
ASHEVILLE – If you felt a rumbling start to your Saturday morning, it might have been a hungry tummy, but more likely it was an earthquake that rocked Western North Carolina. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, there was a 4.1 magnitude earthquake at 8:04 a.m. May 10. USGS maps show that the earthquake's origin was Greenback, Tennessee, which is about 30 miles south of Knoxville, Tennessee. Asheville is about 144 miles east of Greenback. Paul Caruso, a geophysicist with the USGS in Golden, Colorado, said folks in Asheville 'absolutely' felt the earthquake. 'So far (about 10:30 a.m.) we have reports of 23,000 people who have felt it in the region,' he told the Citizen Times May 10. The shaking was felt as far east as Charlotte and as far north as Washington, D.C., and as far south as Atlanta, Georgia, according to the maps. Caruso said the earthquake in the Asheville was between a III mmi and IV mmi. The Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale measures how much 'shaking' is felt in an area. He said the range in Roman numerals is I to X (1 to 10), with I being barely perceptible, and X meaning total devastation. 'A III-IV mmi is moderate shaking, your chandeliers may move back and forth, but we wouldn't expect any damage,' Caruso said. Caruso said 'there is a probability that there will be aftershocks.' The USGS website shows there is a 5% probability for aftershocks. These are usually less intense than the original aftershock. Since 2000 there have been four earthquakes within a 75-mile radius of Asheville larger than 3.5 magnitude, Caruso said. In the past 25 years there have been 169 earthquakes larger than 2.5 magnitude within a 75-mile radius of Asheville. More: Tropical Storm Helene damaged more than 12K homes in Buncombe County, FEMA data shows More: In wake of Helene, county eyes raising property taxes to fund operations during recovery This story will be updated. Karen Chávez is the Citizen Times Executive Editor. Tips, comments, questions? Email her at KChavez@ This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville and Western North Carolina shaken by earthquake May 10
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Robin Roberts Visits Western North Carolina With A Major Gift And A Powerful Message
On the six month anniversary of Hurricane Helene, as "Good Morning America" host Robin Roberts prepared for a two-hour live special on Western North Carolina, she was thinking about where she was in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In late August 2005, Roberts had been sent to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, where she grew up, to cover the storm. Her mother, who was living in Biloxi, had decided to stay home because she was too ill to evacuate, and now Roberts had lost contact with her. 'I got there and I realized there's no way I can go on the air unless I find my family first,' she told Southern Living. 'I fortunately was able to find my mother with the help of a police officer and get to her home. The roof was damaged, but it was standing. And I get into the house and Mama's just in the back singing 'What a Friend We Have in Jesus.' She was oblivious to what was going on in the world and just happy.' After being encouraged by her mother and sister to return to work, she made it back to the live shot with her colleagues Charlie Gibson and Diane Sawyer in the nick of time. 'It was Charlie who said, 'Robin, when you left here, you hadn't made contact with your family. Were you able to?' And the floodgates just opened. I just started bawling live on national television. I knew that people were tuning in that morning not knowing about their loved ones. And I knew what that felt like because that had been me.' Roberts remembered that feeling of helplessness when she was covering Hurricane Helene, which devastated much of Western North Carolina on September 27, 2024. As someone who has covered hurricanes as a reporter far too often, she understands the emotional toll they can take. She also knows how important it is to support impacted communities long after the news cycle has passed. Hurricane Helene caused an estimated $60 billion in damage to Western North Carolina. That's why she and the GMA crew are checking in with local businesses and residents to see what they need. On the GMA special, 'Asheville Rising,' one of those businesses was Highland Brewing, often named one of the best breweries in the South. The 31-year-old brewery avoided flooding because it sits on a hill, but its business ground to a halt due to the loss of its water supply for two months. That didn't stop the company from becoming a distribution hub for food and supplies and a gathering place for the community. 'If it seemed possible, we said yes,' said Leah Wong, President and CEO of Highland Brewing. 'We had nine different communities here at one time.' Beloved Asheville is still operating out of the brewery. Now, six months later, tourism is down around 40 percent. 'We still have areas in our communities that are enduring huge losses,' she told Southern Living. 'Some are still desperate to fill their basic needs while others are focused on survival of their businesses.' To do their part, Highland Brewing has just released a new beer called Highland Haze, a Hazy IPA that's only available on draft. For six months, every time they sell a keg, a portion of the proceeds goes to the NC Hospitality Workers Relief Fund, which supports local restaurants, the backbone of the economy. 'We are surrounded by heroes,' Wong told Southern Living. 'I want people to know that we have so much to offer but we still have a long way to go.' On "Good Morning America," which was broadcast live from Highland Brewing Company, Robin Roberts announced a $3 million in donations to the community from a range of corporate sponsors. Her message to viewers is a rallying cry. 'Asheville is rising, they're open for business. This is what I want people to know,' she told Southern Living. 'They rely on tourism. And there are people who feel that. It really is showing people how they can be of assistance. I want people to know that there are things that can be done to help these communities rebuild and be what they once were—or even better.' 'It's so important for them to know that they're not forgotten,' she said. Read the original article on Southern Living
