00:00Katie, we remember talking to you during, of course, and after Helene, so we really
00:04appreciate you being back with us for an update.
00:07Yeah, thank you so much for having us on.
00:09It has been such a massive response to North Carolina's worst disaster in history.
00:14I believe that we're seeing damages and impacts that exceed that of Hurricane Matthew and
00:20Hurricane Florence that we had several years ago.
00:24And so it's been such an effort, a collective effort, to really work to get these communities
00:30back on the path to recovery.
00:32And let me first just start by saying that while the recovery mission is ongoing, we
00:38could not have done what we have done without the over 1,600 personnel from 39 states that
00:44have shown up to help in North Carolina to complete nearly 150 missions.
00:50So the path and the road to recovery is long, but we are steadily working towards that.
00:56And Katie, certainly the good news, if there was any afterwards, is that we had an extended
01:01period of dry weather.
01:02Unfortunately now, we're going to get some rain in the area, and is that any extra risk
01:08to the locations in Western North Carolina that, again, are still trying to recover?
01:14Definitely.
01:15We have an increased risk, but we also have an increased awareness by both residents and
01:20any responders remaining in the area.
01:22So as the rain from Helene has settled, there's still a lot of deep moisture in the soil that
01:28we know, and that can really exacerbate some potential for additional slope failures or
01:35landslides.
01:36And we've seen that in previous storms before, so it's certainly something that we are keeping
01:40an eye on.
01:41Also, we know that the floodplain has drastically changed since Helene with the expansion of
01:47creeks and rivers.
01:48And so it's going to take some time to really realize what, whether it be low-end rain or
01:54even heavy flash flooding rain, can do.
01:57But certainly the awareness is there, and people are paying attention, just knowing
02:01that this could be the first substantial rain since Helene.
02:06And during these weeks since Helene, how has North Carolina Emergency Management had to
02:10adapt to new dangers during the recovery?
02:13Well, they are evolving.
02:15We've had everything.
02:16This is typically our wildfire season, and so that's been an increased threat and has
02:21led to some increased awareness to make sure that anything that can be done to prevent
02:25wildfires in Western North Carolina is done.
02:30Also the increased threat for rain, we're of course not done with hurricane season,
02:34so we're closely monitoring that.
02:36But nonetheless, recovery continues.
02:38We continue to keep our eyes focused on the efforts to help survivors of North Carolina.
02:45We've got FEMA, who has over 2,000 people in the state who are helping us to provide
02:51support to over 131 households.
02:54We're happy to say that despite the increased threats, we are still continuing with recovery
02:58in the form of transitional sheltering assistance.
03:01We have now closed all disaster-related shelters as of this past weekend, which is a big accomplishment.
03:08And we also have families being moved into manufactured housing units, and we are starting
03:13the intake process for hazard mitigation programs, which means that we are really trying to expedite
03:19some of those programs that survivors require to recover.
03:22So we continue to keep our eye on the threats and how that will evolve, of course, going
03:27into winter weather season, as we know snow and ice is a threat in the West, while also
03:31continuing the mission at hand.
03:34Katie Webster, Assistant Director of North Carolina Emergency Management, we really appreciate
03:38your update and hearing some good news coming out of Western North Carolina for sure.
03:43Thank you both.
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