A lot of flood victims escaped with their lives, but little else. Their homes are ruined, needing extensive repairs or outright replacement. Their cars and personal belongings are ruined. They have nothing left. They may have escaped drowning in the floods, but they're still deeply under financial water and have little hope of getting back to the surface. There's no rescue in sight.
An Observer story on Sunday recounted Virginia Bethea's plight. Bethea lives on Pennystone Drive, south of Fayetteville. Her home was flooded four weeks ago. Rubble from her home and her neighbors' is piled high by the street, awaiting cleanup crews that still haven't been hired.
But that's the least of Bethea's problems. The Federal Emergency Management Agency told her she'll get their maximum assistance grant - $33,300. But a contractor has already given her an estimate of the actual cost of restoring the house - $45,000. And that does nothing to replace furnishings or her car, also ruined by flooding.
Like most of her neighbors, Bethea had no flood insurance. She works at Dunkin' Donuts and couldn't afford it, but even those who could never dreamed they'd need it, never having seen floodwater anywhere near their neighborhood until Matthew came.
Bethea's story is being repeated across the region. There are more than 12,000 families registered with FEMA in Cumberland County alone. And there are nearly 16,000 registered in Robeson County. Across the state, more than 63,000 have registered, and so far, FEMA has paid out more than $62 million. More is coming, but it will fall far short of the actual repair bills for many homes.
Can the state make up at least some of the difference? Perhaps. Seventeen years ago, when Hurricane Floyd caused similar flooding in many eastern parts of the state, the General Assembly allocated $836 million for recovery. Some of that money went to homeowners, but more went to restoring government property and essential infrastructure.
Gov. Pat McCrory says he'll call the General Assembly into session once there's a good working tally of needs. But it's clear that restoring everyone's losses won't happen. That's a topic that should be a priority in Washington and Raleigh. Floyd, Matthew, Katrina and Sandy make a powerful point: People are vulnerable and government can't do enough to help them. We need new solutions.
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