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These stories are a series of profiles leading up to the premiere of the WRAL Documentary “Helene: What We Lost, What We Found,” a powerful new investigative documentary examining the devastation and resilience that followed Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina. Watch the documentary beginning Thursday, Sept. 25, on WRAL-TV and everywhere you stream on WRAL.
Lawmakers and leaders throughout North Carolina will meet Thursday to push for Hurricane Helene recovery funding from the federal government.
During the virtual meeting, leaders are set to talk about the ongoing recovery efforts underway in the western part of the state, emphasizing the need for federal assistance.
The push comes nearly a year after Helene damaged more than two dozen counties in North Carolina, according to the Legal Aid Disaster Resource Center. The state totals around $60 billion in damage.
North Carolina requested about $28 billion in assistance from the federal government, which has since sent about $5 billion, or 10%.
State lawmakers and county leaders have expressed frustrations specifically with FEMA, which has sent about $1.3 billion.
WRAL News previously reported the Trump administration has instituted new layers of bureaucracy in an apparent effort to cut government spending, blocking any FEMA funds from being sent out unless the money is signed off on by Trump’s DOGE team and also receives personal approval from Homeland Security director Kristi Noem.
Over the past few months, Gov. Josh Stein has pressed for more FEMA funding. FEMA has approved tens of millions of dollars in funding in the past two weeks.
In a hearing Wednesday, county leaders expressed frustrations with the federal government.
“The state is a lot faster than the feds, we appreciate that,” Lynn Austin, the county manager for Yancey County, said. “We still have a lot of trouble out of that. Time is money for us and time means people’s health.”
State leaders and lawmakers will meet virtually at 11 a.m.
Helene: What we’ve lost, what we’ve found: Watch on WRAL
During the summer of 2025, WRAL reporters Eric Miller and Cristin Severance and photographers Sean Braswell and Dwayne Myers spent a week in the mountains, talking to people about the progress made and work still to be done almost a year after Hurricane Helene.
The WRAL Documentary “Helene: What we’ve lost, what we’ve found” will debut Sept. 25 at 7:30 p.m. on WRAL-TV. You can stream is everywhere you find WRAL.
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