Helene recovery will be measured in years, not months

The headlines that were written two years ago were not hyperbole but pure fact.

“Storm of the Century.”

“A Once in a Lifetime Event.”

“Recovery May Take Years.”

Nearly two years have passed since Hurricane Helene roared through Western North Carolina and Burke County.

Two years later, Morganton’s Ingles Supermarket has yet to reopen.

Two years later, the softball fields at Catawba Meadows Park and the soccer fields at the Municipal Soccer Complex remain unusable.

Two years later, thousands of homeowners are still waiting on home repairs or, if they are among the most unfortunate victims of the storm, are still waiting for their homes to be replaced.

It is impossible to put a cost on human tragedy — more than 100 North Carolinians were killed by the floods and winds of Helene — but Morganton learned last week just what the public price has been for the city.

As reported in our story on Page 1A, City Manager Sally Sandy reported to the council Monday evening that full recovery will cost roughly $54.5 million.

That total includes money that has already been spent, projects that have been approved for reimbursement, work in engineering or bidding.

No matter how you slice it, that’s a chunk o’ change, far more than the city can ante up from its own coffers. Instead, the city must wait for word from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on what projects are approved and what funds will be forthcoming.

Top on the city’s list: repair of the Catawba Meadows facilities and the Municipal Soccer Complex. Price tag: $33 million.

And every day those fields stand unusable is another day that Morganton is missing out on much-needed revenue.

The city estimates that $350,000 is being lost each year from events that cannot be held, a figure which does not include lost income at hotels, restaurants, and other businesses.

The city, commendably, is doing all it can to bridge the gap before additional FEMA funding is approved — working with other state and federal agencies to see what funds can be utilized.

Morganton is, of course, a small city with a population of roughly 17,000 people. The population of all of Western North Carolina is roughly 1.2 million people.

The damage in the downtown areas of both Burnsville and Bakersville was absolutely catastrophic. The River District in Asheville was decimated. Communities all across the region lost roads, lost bridges, lost jobs, lost lives.

In the entire region, the cost of recovery will prove astronomical and progress will be slow.

So, what can we, as individuals do to speed this recovery effort.

For one, we can remind our elected federal officials — Rep. Tim Moore and Senators Thom Tillis and Ted Budd — to continue to work to ensure that FEMA distributes its funds as quickly and as impartially as possible.

That trio should also stand up to President Trump when he describes North Carolina as “one of the worst states in the nation” and jokes about withholding FEMA funding if Democrat Roy Cooper is elected to the Senate in November.

Secondly, if we are able, we can give our support to the ongoing relief efforts being sponsored by churches and private organizations across the region.

Don’t know where to start? The WNC Recovery website — uncrecovery.nc.gov — is a great place to start. It lists dozens of organizations that are looking both for funding and for volunteers.

And finally, we can remember.

We can remember that, while Helene may have faded from the daily headlines, its consequences have not faded for the people who lost homes, businesses, livelihoods, and loved ones.

We can remember that recovery is not measured in weeks or months, but sometimes in years.

And we can remember that Western North Carolina is still recovering — and still needs our help.

Two years later, Helene is no longer a breaking news story. But for thousands of our neighbors, it remains an unfinished story.

We can help write the ending.