Trump OKs Disaster Relief In North Carolina

CHARLOTTE, NC — The White House says President Donald Trump has issued a disaster declaration for North Carolina and that will make federal money available to people in the counties of Beaufort, Brunswick, Carteret, Craven, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico and Pender.

Government aid can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of Hurricane Florence, the White House announced. Money also is available to the state, some local governments, and some private nonprofit groups on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work in those counties.

Tropical Storm Florence is continuing to dump dangerous amounts of rain as it continues across the Carolinas. The region is being pounded with rain from the slow-moving storm, causing the risk of catastrophic flooding.

By Saturday afternoon, more than 706,000 people in the state were without power, according to poweroutage.us. That includes more than 440,000 Duke Energy customers in the state, including about 6,259 in Mecklenburg County.

In coastal New Hanover County alone, more than 113,000 Duke customers were without power along with more than 14,000 in Wake County. Duke previously said it expected millions of residents and businesses to be in the dark for weeks.

Residents and business owners who sustained losses in the designated counties can begin applying for assistance tomorrow by registering online at http://www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA(3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and speech impaired. The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (local time) seven days a week until further notice.

Related coverage:

• Treasures In The Car: What Evacuees Grabbed Fleeing Their Homes
• 'This Storm Is A Monster': NC Governor Orders Coastal Evacuation
• Hurricane Florence Threatens Pigs, Catastrophic Waste Spills
• Freeze Your Leftovers And Other Tips Ahead Of Hurricane Florence
• Duke Energy: Florence Will Leave Millions Without Power For Weeks
• Florence Downgraded To Tropical Storm, Relentless Rain Continues
• Entire Blue Ridge Parkway To Closed To Traffic
• Wild Horses, Ponies Should Weather Hurricane Florence Just Fine
• 1,000 Out-Of-State Lineman Arrive In NC To Combat Storm Outages
• Driving Near Flooded Rivers, Roads: Do's And Don'ts

(Stay on top of all the latest Hurricane Florence news with our free, real-time news alerts, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here. And like Patch on Facebook!)

Main photo: Volunteers from all over North Carolina help rescue residents from their flooded homes during Hurricane Florence September 14, 2018 in New Bern, North Carolina. Hurricane Florence made landfall in North Carolina as a Category 1 storm and flooding from the heavy rain is forcing hundreds of people to call for emergency rescues in the area around New Bern, North Carolina, which sits at the confluence of the Nuese and Trent rivers. The storm has since been downgraded to a tropical storm. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)