When hurricanes struck Western North Carolina, the storms’ immediate damage was only the beginning. The true test came afterward, as it usually does, when families wait to see how quickly help arrives and how effectively recovery efforts turn plans into rebuilt homes and rebuilt lives. Compared with past storms, this recovery effort is standing out for one reason above all others: speed.

At the December 9 City Council meeting, Council members undertook consideration of several Helene Recovery agenda items as the City and community continue to move forward with recovery related projects and needs. Below is a list of the items, grouped by topic or category,  actions, and impacts. 

The U.S. Department of Labor today awarded an additional $4 million in funding to support disaster-relief jobs and continued employment and training for North Carolina residents affected in September 2024 when Hurricane Helene brought the worst flooding in a century to the area. 

The new funds, totaling $4 million, represent the remaining portion of a $10 million Disaster Recovery Dislocated Worker Grant that the U.S. Department of Labor initially awarded to North Carolina in 2024 in the wake of Helene.

Today Governor Josh Stein and NC Department of Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley visited a completed home rehabilitation project in Fairview to highlight Renew NC’s work to repair and rebuild homes damaged by Hurricane Helene.

Congressman Chuck Edwards voted to reopen the government and secure $22.5 billion for disaster relief in North Carolina.

FEMA is sending $155 million in new aid to North Carolina, the agency announced Friday, in a bundle of federal money that will fund 130 projects for Hurricane Helene cleanup and other disaster recovery projects.

Canton’s election carried the weight of four turbulent years — a pandemic, a devastating flood, the closure of its largest employer and Hurricane Helene’s destruction.

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ted Budd (R-N.C.) released the following statement after Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem today, announced $155 million in public assistance reimbursements for Western North Carolina.

North Carolina’s Republican senators still want more from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The City of Asheville’s Community and Economic Development (CED) team announces the upcoming release of a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Small Business Support Program. 

The City of Asheville’s Community and Economic Development (CED) team announces the upcoming release of a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Small Business Support Program. 

The nearly mile-long Nasty Branch Greenway, which will run along the creek through Southside, is slated to begin construction early- to mid-next year.

Buncombe County commissioners in Western North Carolina have approved a $14 million increase in Hurricane Helene grant funding.

Onslow County, in collaboration with Trillium Health Resources, conducted a disaster simulation exercise on Tuesday to assess their crisis management capabilities.

On Tuesday, the North Carolina General Assembly approved a targeted spending plan that directs millions toward disaster recovery, education, infrastructure, and government operations.

On Tuesday, Oct. 21, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners approved a budget amendment to increase the Hurricane Helene grant project by $14 million.

A year after Hurricane Helene, FEMA hasn’t reimbursed millions of dollars spend on cleanup and recovery, upending local budgets and hindering reconstruction.