President Joe Biden announced that the government will cover 100% of Hurricane Helene cleanup costs for the next several months to pay for the urgent work to clear the mud, remove downed trees and provide temporary housing.
The federal support comes as residents in multiple Southeastern states are still struggling to return to normal following last week’s storm that killed over 200 people.
Katie Vlietstra Wonnenberg, a small business advocate and political strategist, said it is going to take a significant amount of time to finish the cleanup, no matter how hard the federal government works.
“This is going to take, unfortunately, a lot of time,” she said. “But I do think we have the resources and the manpower to get to those citizens and support them during this terrible crisis.”
RELATED STORY | In North Carolina, aid and personnel are rushing into storm-hit Asheville
One issue is the recovery could be costly for the federal government at a time Congress has struggled to keep the government open. Federal Emergency Management Agency officials, however, have contended that there are enough funds to provide immediate disaster relief and are encouraging individuals and businesses to apply for assistance.
“There's a double whammy,” Wonnenberg said. “You have businesses in Asheville who have been decimated. They also have homes that have been decimated. And as you probably know from your own reporting, many of these homes do not have flood insurance. They're going to have to rely on programs both at FEMA and the Small Business Administration, not to just rebuild their businesses, but rebuild their homes. And so our ability to ensure that the federal funds are available to do so, that the manpower is there to quickly assess the damage that has been done both to business and homes, is really important.”
In addition to direct financial aid, the White House has sent 1,000 troops to the region to provide assistance. As of early Thursday, FEMA had shipped over 8.5 million meals, more than 7 million liters of water, 150 generators and over 220,000 tarps to aid response efforts.
RELATED STORY | Taking stock of Helene's toll on Asheville, North Carolina
Wonnenberg noted that government outreach is important to help people understand the kinds of assistance available following the storm.
“We're going to have to make sure that the information to these business owners gets out there as it relates to the federal programs that are available to them. And there are quite a few, and I know that the door knocking that FEMA just mentioned And the reporting is a really important aspect of getting those federal funds, getting those resources flowing to those business owners, but who also happen to be homeowners,” she said.
Owners of small businesses can apply for federal assistance through the Small Business Administration's website.
