Oct. 24. Hurricane Helene packed an economic wallop when it hit Western North Carolina, unlike any previous storm. Gov. Roy Cooper’s budget proposal calls for $3.9 billion just to begin rebuilding infrastructure, homes, businesses, schools and farms.

Initial damage estimates are $53 billion, roughly three times Hurricane Florence estimates in 2018 and the largest in state history.

Details

—$650 million to address economic losses and physical damage for non-agricultural businesses and non-profit organizations.

—$650 million to address physical damage to residential structures and cost of housing assistance.

Helene damage

—$578 million to address the physical damage and cleanup of energy, water, waste clean-up, telecommunications, dams and other infrastructure.

—$55 million to address physical damage and state revenue implications of the transportation infrastructure damage.

—$422 million to address physical damage and business disruption for agricultural enterprises.

Quotable

“Helene is the deadliest and most damaging storm ever to hit North Carolina,“ said Cooper. “This storm left a trail of destruction in our beautiful mountains that we will not soon forget, but I know the people of Western North Carolina are determined to build back better than ever. These initial funds are a good start, but the staggering amount of damage shows we are very much on the front end of this recovery effort.”

The full Budget Recommendation can be found here.