FEMA

For hundreds of communities nationwide, plans to protect against natural disasters and climate change have been upended because of the Trump administration's elimination of a federal grant program.

FEMA's decision to stop reimbursing all of the debris removal costs from Hurricane Helene could cost North Carolina as much as $200 million, Stein told Trump in a letter.

Hurricane Helene hit areas north of Asheville particularly hard. That’s where flooding from the North Toe River devastated Spruce Pine, a town of about 2,000 people.

President Donald Trump's suggestion about "getting rid of" the nation's disaster relief agency doesn't sound like a bad idea for some residents of western North Carolina who are still navigating the long recovery process from Hurricane Helene.

President Donald Trump says he is considering “getting rid of” the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He made the remark Friday during a trip to two disaster zones, offering the latest sign of how he is weighing sweeping changes to the nation’s central organization for responding to disasters.

Three months after Helene, FEMA is still paying hotel bills for more than 5000 people displaced by the storm. Finding more permanent housing remains challenging.

More than 6,000 North Carolina households are in FEMA-provided hotels. FEMA spokesman Darrell Habisch, based at the American Tobacco Historic District in Durham, says it's not clear how many had to move to the Triangle.

Officials say federal disaster workers have resumed door-to-door visits as part of hurricane recovery efforts in North Carolina. The visits were temporarily suspended after reports emerged over the weekend that Federal Emergency Management Agency employees could be targeted by a militia members.

Gov. Roy Cooper specifically called out Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the Republican candidate for governor, who has criticized the Cooper’s administration’s response.

Officials say federal disaster workers paused and then changed some of their hurricane-recovery efforts in North Carolina, including abandoning door-to-door visits, after receiving threats.