Cooper visited the Department of Social Services, a Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster recovery center and a house devastated by flooding.
"All of these are complex problems, but you only fix them if the community, state and federal officials work together," Cooper said. "Clearly, everybody wants help and we need to make sure they get it as soon as possible."
Cooper met with city and county officials, including Fayetteville Mayor Nat Robertson and Cumberland County Board of Commissioners Chairman Glenn Adams at the DSS on Monday afternoon.
Cooper's office put out a news release which said more than 1,000 families in the state are still living in hotels nearly four months after the Oct. 8 storm that dumped about 15 inches of rain in the area in less than a day. That includes about 200 Cumberland County families.
Cooper said more than 81,600 N.C. households have requested financial help from FEMA. So far, he said, the agency has awarded $90 million in grants, and the U.S. Small Business Administration has approved $86 million in low-interest loans to help people rebuild their homes and businesses.
The governor said his office has announced grants totaling more than $200 million for recovery efforts. He said the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has awarded the state $198 million.
But Cooper said there is more to be done, especially for the more than 1,000 families still displaced.
"Everyone here is working as hard as possible to find alternatives for them," Cooper said. "We want to help, and that's why we're here."
Following the meeting and brief news conference, Cooper visited the FEMA disaster recovery center in the DSS building.
The location is scheduled to close Thursday. The deadline to apply for aid was Jan. 23, said FEMA spokesman Nate Custer.
"That doesn't mean we're pulling out of the state," Custer said. He said FEMA officials are still helping hurricane victims with their claims.
After his DSS visit, Cooper went to a Habitat for Humanity house on Sessoms Street that was devastated by flood waters.
The home was occupied by Dang Nguyen, who is now staying with relatives in Apex, said Habitat CEO Tammy Laurence. Today, many of the floors of the house are bare, and the lower half of the drywall has been removed because of mold.
Laurence led Cooper on a tour of the small house. She said Habitat is planning a volunteer "blitz" Feb. 15 to help rebuild damaged homes.
Cooper praised the work that has been done so far, although he acknowledged much more needs to be done.
"There's so many people of faith out there that are pulling together," Cooper said. "All those great volunteers ... that's what's going to make it work."
Staff writer Rodger Mullen can be reached at mullenr@fayobserver.com or 486-3561.
———
©2017 The Fayetteville Observer (Fayetteville, N.C.)
Visit The Fayetteville Observer (Fayetteville, N.C.) at www.fayobserver.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
