Almost 6 months after Hurricane Florence hit the Carolinas, many are still trying to rebuild.
Senator Thom Tillis has announced a new plan that would hopefully help people in small rural areas with the process.
It would help farmers and small towns all across North Carolina with grants to help the town get back on their feet.
Towns like Pollocksville where right now, they have no businesses or restaurants.
They’ve all been destroyed by Florence.
Pollocksville is a small town in Jones County.
Only about 300 people call it home, many of them are still without a home.
Mayor James Bender says the clean-up process after Hurricane Florence has been tough.
“It was a difficult situation because after Hurricane Floyd, I didn’t think we’d see anything like that again and this was 7,8,9 feet more”
He’s talking about the flooding.
“The town hall was flooded, the sewer system was compromised, we have no more downtown, our post office was washed away”
And even though they have gotten a few grants — and FEMA is helping people slowly back into their homes, there’s more to do.
That’s why Senator Thom Tillis is trying to secure up to $13 billion dollars in extra relief efforts.
Tillis said in a statement: “This legislation is a positive step to ensure our state receives the resources it needs to help communities affected by the storm.”
Bender said, “We could do so much with extra funds, we would just have to prioritize, we have debt we’d like to get rid of, we will still have infrastructure issues if FEMA doesn’t come through”
Mayor Bender says he’s hearing it could be 6 to 7 years before things are back to normal.
Of course, Pollocksville is just one of many small towns dealing with the same clean-up process that would benefit from this package if it’s approved.
