Roy Cooper blasts opponent over missing hurricane relief in Asheville
Roy Cooper used an Asheville stop to press his rival on missing Helene aid as Buncombe County still waits on home repairs, sewer work and other recovery money.
Roy Cooper went after his opponent in Asheville on Saturday, saying Buncombe County still had not secured the federal hurricane relief western North Carolina needs after Helene. The Democratic Senate nominee made recovery money a central part of the stop, putting the argument against a backdrop of damaged homes, strained utilities and unfinished repairs across Asheville and the rest of the county.
The pressure campaign is now centered in Washington, where Governor Josh Stein and other Western North Carolina leaders have backed a request for more than $10 billion in additional federal Helene recovery funding. The money is meant for the long-term rebuilding phase, with priorities that include damaged homes, water and wastewater systems, local roads, dams and small-business support.
Buncombe County has already received several rounds of federal help, but the figures show how much remains to be done. On June 10, FEMA announced nearly $300 million in North Carolina mitigation funding, including $29 million for Buncombe County to acquire and demolish 62 Helene-damaged properties and return the land to green space. Earlier FEMA approvals included $3.7 million for Buncombe County for architectural and engineering services, $2.6 million for emergency protective measures and repairs, and $4.6 million for the Metropolitan Sewage District of Buncombe County for permanent repairs to 143,500 linear feet of sewer lines.
North Carolina has already passed more than $1 billion in state disaster recovery aid, but officials argue that total still falls short of what western North Carolina needs to rebuild after the storm. That gap was the backdrop in Asheville as Cooper criticized his opponent over the pace and scale of federal help reaching the region.
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