Helene Deals Billions in Damage to Infrastructure
Hurricane Helene tore through the Southeast at the end of September, destroying roads and bridges, knocking out electricity and cell service, sweeping away homes and killing at least 227 people. State DOTs are assessing the state of their infrastructure, as FEMA continues search and rescue and other emergency support.
The Category 4 storm was the most lethal hurricane to hit the mainland U.S. since Katrina in 2005, and the rebuilding needs, which are still coming into focus, will be massive.
Western North Carolina suffered the worst of the damage, and Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia and Florida — where it first hit the coast on Sept. 26 — are also dealing with the aftermath. The far-reaching storm knocked out power in those states as well as in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia.
Many Floridians, still reeling from Helene, are now fleeing another Category 4 storm and Florida DOT is pivoting from recovery to preparation. Fast-growing Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall in the Tampa Bay area on Wednesday and looks to be one of the worst to hit the area in 100 years.
Rebuilding will be expensive
Preliminary estimates place the price of rebuilding from Helene in the tens of billions: On the lower end is $30.5 to $47.5 billion, from CoreLogic, a California-based financial and consumer analytics company, while forecasting company AccuWeather pegs it from $225 to $250 billion. Many of the affected homes are uninsured, according to climate news site Grist.
President Joe Biden asked Congress on Friday to quickly replenish disaster relief funds to help. As of Monday, FEMA says it has provided more than $210 million in emergency assistance to affected areas of Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia for items such as food, generators and tarps.
The federal government is sending another $100 million to repair and reopen roads and bridges damaged by Helene in western North Carolina, the Federal Highway Administration said Saturday, as well as $32 million in relief for Tennessee and $2 million for South Carolina. Where funding will come from for the rest of the repairs remains to be seen.
