Cooper, FEMA acknowledge housing shortage, say recovery will be long process

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Gov. Roy Cooper was back in Wilmington today to check on the conditions in downtown Wilmington and let people know the Port City is open for business. The governor says getting businesses up and running is important to the recovery from Florence, because it means more jobs for people affected by the storm.

Many of you are not just worried about jobs, but also where you’ll live or where your next meal will come from. From what we’ve heard there are many more questions than answers. So we pushed the governor and a FEMA official with him for those answers.

Gov. Cooper said this is going to be a long process. With hotels still filled with relief workers and many apartment complexes evicting residents because of storm damage, neither he nor a FEMA Federal Coordinating Officer Albie Lewis had solid answers on where people will live in the short term.

“This is going to be a significant challenge across the state, and we’re working as hard as we can to provide places for people,” Cooper said.

But countless people are still crying out for help.

Cooper says there are still emergency shelters operating if you need somewhere to go. He also says a lot of people have absolutely nothing right now, and that’s where FEMA comes in.

“Already we’ve had nearly 100,000 North Carolinians who have registered with FEMA for assistance,” Lewis said. “We have already approved over $50 million for a lot of those individuals to get them the next step in recovery.”

Lewis says the agency could bring in trailers and other temporary housing, but he does not know how soon that will happen. He also says decisions like that are made on an individual, case-by-case basis.

But people need help now.

That was the message Robert Babson, a resident of the flooded out Cross Creek neighborhood in Hampstead had for the governor when we spoke with Babson Thursday.

“Help us,” Babson said. “Help my volunteers. Help my neighbors. Help my family. I’ve got three little girls. They don’t have a home to go to anymore. He’s our leader. He’s North Carolina’s Commander in Chief. Help us. Be the man you were meant to be. Be the leader.”

Gov. Cooper told WWAY he already knew of Babson’s message before we read it to him.

“I take that to heart,” Cooper said. “I know I’ve got a big job ahead. I know we’ve got to pull together. I’m going to be with the people of North Carolina for the long haul.”

Cooper says the General Assembly will meet next week to try to unlock short-term emergency funds. He says the state needs to use every resource available, and he will not stop until each person has a roof over their head, but it may take a while.

Gov. Cooper says they will continue to open Disaster Recovery Centers.

FEMA urges people to call (800) 621-FEMA to start that recovery process.

Earlier this week the US House of Representatives approved disaster aid for the Carolinas, but it could be several more days until the US Senate votes on the measure. Cooper said that money is for long-term recovery efforts and should not affect what needs to be done now.