Gov. Cooper weighs in on storm debris pile up in rural areas

PENDER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Gov. Roy Cooper was back in our area seeing some of Pender County. He was there to see volunteers on the ground helping homeowners rebuild after Hurricane Florence.

Gov. Cooper made stops in Duplin, Onslow, and Pender counties Thursday. He came to the Cape Fear to see the efforts of the AmeriCorps volunteers who are gutting a home along Croomsbridge Road.

That part of the county was all underwater two months ago due to the storm.

Now, the county is struggling to find the money to pick up storm debris.

WWAY asked Cooper if the state would step up to help rural counties like Pender.

“I’ll go back,” Cooper said. “We’ll work, we will see what we can do to try and to help them through this difficult time. Remember that in southeastern North Carolina there are a lot of challenges that people were facing before the storm.”

The governor just returned from Washington, DC, where he talked to Congressional leaders about Florence relief.