NORTH CAROLINA (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A new online dashboard that tracks the western NC’s Hurricane Helene recovery shows that after 135 days since the devastating hurricane hit, more than 5,000 are still displaced in the state.
The North Carolina State Auditor’s office announced the launch of the new dashboard on Tuesday. The tool breaks down how many households are currently displaced as well as those using FEMA shelter assistance or still in need of assistance by county.
The website shows an estimated 5,767 households are displaced due to Helene. In Buncombe County alone, there are 1,888 households displaced with 1,115 not using FEMA assistance. Locally, Watauga County has 224 total households impacted and only 70 using FEMA assistance.
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Out of the total impacted households, 2,112 are housed using either FEMA rental assistance and/or transitional sheltering assistance while over 3,300 people are not using FEMA assistance. As of February 8, 323 are seeking assistance, up 29 households from the start of the month.
Additionally, the website shows the number of temporary housing units in the state. Out of the nine we have, three have yet to be acquired. The three pending are in Buncombe, Haywood and Transylvania counties, according to the website. There are six currently occupied: one in Ashe County, one in Avery County, two in McDowell County, one in Watauga County and one in Haywood County.
