As Helene Survivors Wait for State Help, Some Victims of Earlier Hurricanes Are Still Out of Their Homes

ProPublicaCenter-LeftEN 10 min read 100% complete by Ren LarsonFebruary 11, 2026 at 11:00 AM

AI Summary

long article 10 min

A North Carolina rebuilding program intended to help residents recover from Hurricanes Florence and Matthew has left hundreds of families waiting for years to return home. The program, plagued by issues like poor expense tracking and contractor accountability, struggled to complete projects in a timely manner. As a result, some residents displaced by Hurricane Florence in 2018 were still awaiting assistance as of late 2024. Now, nearly 5,000 homeowners are awaiting state help after Hurricane Helene in 2024. Despite the creation of a new recovery program, Renew NC, designed to address the previous program's shortcomings, similar problems are already emerging, raising concerns about further delays in hurricane recovery efforts.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

The Assembly 40% ProPublica 40% Lumberton 50% Josh Stein 60% Hurricane Matthew 60% Willa Mae James ×470% Renew NC ×270% Hurricane Florence ×280% Hurricane Helene ×390% North Carolina ×3100%

Keywords

hurricane recovery 90% home rebuilding program 80% hurricane helene 70% hurricane florence 70% state government help 70% displaced homeowners 60% program delays 60% north carolina 50% rigid rules 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Very Negative

Score: -0.60

Source Transparency

Source

ProPublica

Political Lean

Center-Left (-0.40)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

North Carolina

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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hurricane recovery home rebuilding program hurricane helene hurricane florence state government help displaced homeowners program delays north carolina rigid rules

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