Katie Webster of the North Carolina Emergency Management gives the latest update on the road to recovery after Hurricane Helene. Western North Carolina is expected to be soaked by upcoming showers.
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00:00Katie, we remember talking to you during, of course, and after Helene, so we really
00:04appreciate you being back with us for an update.
00:07Yeah, thank you so much for having us on.
00:09It has been such a massive response to North Carolina's worst disaster in history.
00:14I believe that we're seeing damages and impacts that exceed that of Hurricane Matthew and
00:20Hurricane Florence that we had several years ago.
00:24And so it's been such an effort, a collective effort, to really work to get these communities
00:30back on the path to recovery.
00:32And let me first just start by saying that while the recovery mission is ongoing, we
00:38could not have done what we have done without the over 1,600 personnel from 39 states that
00:44have shown up to help in North Carolina to complete nearly 150 missions.
00:50So the path and the road to recovery is long, but we are steadily working towards that.
00:56And Katie, certainly the good news, if there was any afterwards, is that we had an extended
01:01period of dry weather.
01:02Unfortunately now, we're going to get some rain in the area, and is that any extra risk
01:08to the locations in Western North Carolina that, again, are still trying to recover?
01:14Definitely.
01:15We have an increased risk, but we also have an increased awareness by both residents and
01:20any responders remaining in the area.
01:22So as the rain from Helene has settled, there's still a lot of deep moisture in the soil that
01:28we know, and that can really exacerbate some potential for additional slope failures or
01:35landslides.
01:36And we've seen that in previous storms before, so it's certainly something that we are keeping
01:40an eye on.
01:41Also, we know that the floodplain has drastically changed since Helene with the expansion of
01:47creeks and rivers.
01:48And so it's going to take some time to really realize what, whether it be low-end rain or
01:54even heavy flash flooding rain, can do.
01:57But certainly the awareness is there, and people are paying attention, just knowing
02:01that this could be the first substantial rain since Helene.
02:06And during these weeks since Helene, how has North Carolina Emergency Management had to
02:10adapt to new dangers during the recovery?
02:13Well, they are evolving.
02:15We've had everything.
02:16This is typically our wildfire season, and so that's been an increased threat and has
02:21led to some increased awareness to make sure that anything that can be done to prevent
02:25wildfires in Western North Carolina is done.
02:30Also the increased threat for rain, we're of course not done with hurricane season,
02:34so we're closely monitoring that.
02:36But nonetheless, recovery continues.
02:38We continue to keep our eyes focused on the efforts to help survivors of North Carolina.
02:45We've got FEMA, who has over 2,000 people in the state who are helping us to provide
02:51support to over 131 households.
02:54We're happy to say that despite the increased threats, we are still continuing with recovery
02:58in the form of transitional sheltering assistance.
03:01We have now closed all disaster-related shelters as of this past weekend, which is a big accomplishment.
03:08And we also have families being moved into manufactured housing units, and we are starting
03:13the intake process for hazard mitigation programs, which means that we are really trying to expedite
03:19some of those programs that survivors require to recover.
03:22So we continue to keep our eye on the threats and how that will evolve, of course, going
03:27into winter weather season, as we know snow and ice is a threat in the West, while also
03:31continuing the mission at hand.
03:34Katie Webster, Assistant Director of North Carolina Emergency Management, we really appreciate
03:38your update and hearing some good news coming out of Western North Carolina for sure.
03:43Thank you both.