N.C. storm victims join long line for help
TARBORO, N.C. — Tiajuana Williams lives in a one-story apartment building in Princeville, N.C., that was flooded by a river bulging with rainwater from Hurricane Matthew. Before driving out of town in her Honda Civic ahead of the storm, she hurriedly packed a small bag with little more than a change of clothes.
Now, even while seeking aid to replace her belongings and arrange long-term housing, she has more pressing needs: “I ain’t got no clothes. I left my clothes in there!”
She filled out a FEMA application online and signed paperwork Thursday with an agency representative.
But Williams was told that it could take a week or more to get to the next step, which will be a phone call from another representative who will go over her information again. She doesn’t have renter’s insurance and fears her stuff has been ruined. Making matters worse, she hasn’t been able to get to her job as a home health nurse and doesn’t expect a paycheck this week.
“I’ve had a headache for about four days,” the 53-year-old said, taking a drag off a cigarette.
Her stress may not go away anytime soon if other recent flood disasters are a guide. In Louisiana, thousands of displaced families are still waiting for government assistance after the catastrophic deluge there two months ago — from a storm system that didn’t even have a name.
Last month, Congress authorized $500 million in flood recovery grant money for Louisiana and other states. That was before Matthew churned up the East Coast.
FEMA spokesman Rafael Lemaitre said the federal government currently has about $5 billion in a fund for all FEMA-funded disaster relief work.
More than 24,000 survivors in North Carolina have applied for federal disaster assistance, and FEMA has approved more than $5.8 million in individual assistance to cover needs including repairs or temporary housing, Lemaitre said. That amount is expected to increase.
As of Thursday morning, about 3,400 people were staying in more than 40 shelters in eastern North Carolina.
The next step is to move them into hotels or rental properties.
“We want to get these people out of shelters so they have more privacy, so they have more dignity, so they have better care, so they can be with their families and reunited with their pets if possible,” Gov. Pat McCrory said.