Gov. Cooper Tours Hurricane Recovery Construction Site in Lenoir County | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press Release:

    KINSTON: Governor Roy Cooper today visited a Kinston home damaged by Hurricane Matthew that is undergoing reconstruction with federal Community Development Block Grant - Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding. ReBuild NC, the program providing home repair and reconstruction assistance to storm survivors, is managed by the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency (NCORR). Governor Cooper created NCORR after Hurricane Florence to aid and accelerate hurricane recovery efforts, emphasizing resiliency to help North Carolina prepare for future storms.

    "Many North Carolinians are still feeling the impact of these storms, and we are continuing to work to help people get back into their homes," said Governor Cooper. "We have to focus on both recovery and resiliency to ensure families and communities are prepared for future storms."

    Gov. Cooper was joined by Lenoir County Commission Chair Linda Sutton Rouse, Kinston Mayor Don Hardy, NCORR representatives, and local Kinston residents to tour the home, which has been elevated to improve resilience against future storms.

    North Carolina has spent more than $3.4 billion in state and federal recovery funding to help Hurricane Matthew and Hurricane Florence storm survivors. More than $4 million of that amount has been awarded or committed in Lenoir County. Across the state, there are 304 CDBG-DR funded repair and reconstruction projects are currently underway. To date, the ReBuild NC program has completed work on 221 hurricane-damaged homes in counties impacted by Hurricane Matthew.

    North Carolina still does not have access to CDBG-DR funding allocated for Hurricane Florence. The action plan for use of this money is expected to be approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development this spring, which will allow the state to move forward with additional recovery programs.

    Rebuild NC assists local governments and homeowners with the disaster recovery process, including repairs, renovations, elevations, and buyouts. To learn more about Rebuild NC and CDBG-DR funding, click HERE.

• Contact: Ford Porter
•     govpress@nc.gov