Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Volunteers begin recovery in North Carolina

John Pape in Disaster News Network: More than a month after the remnants of short-lived Tropical Storm Nicole brought record rainfall and flooding to eastern North Carolina, faith-based organizations are continuing to help flood victims recover. The North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church and the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina are continuing to provide work crews to repair storm-related damage to homes throughout the region.

Craig Parker, who is in charge of the United Methodist Church’s relief teams in the Elizabeth City District, said first priority is being given to uninsured homeowners, but there are also a number of underinsured people relief teams are helping.

...Parker noted some of the homes impacted by the most recent flood were also swamped during Hurricane Floyd 11 years ago and many residents were hoping for a buy-out. “They said Floyd was a 100-year flood, but now – just 11 years later – they’ve been hit by another 100-year flood. Many don’t want to rebuild and risk getting flooded again,” he said. “They can’t sell to anyone but FEMA because it’s in a flood-prone area, but FEMA hasn’t announced a buy-out.” Many residents flooded this time are still paying off FEMA loans they used to rebuild after Hurricane Floyd.

…More than 420 homes in the disaster area were badly damaged by the storm, including nearly 60 that were completely destroyed, according state emergency management reports. FEMA said residents in the six-county disaster area could apply for low-interest loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration….

FEMA and State inspectors assess the flood damage from Tropical Storm Nicole to a mobile home in Jacksonville, North Carolina, where some areas received over 20 inches of rain. FEMA photo, thanks to Tim Burkitt, photographer

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