Nearly 200 days after Hurricane Helene devastated western North Carolina, thousands of households remain without permanent housing, according to the state auditor’s latest recovery dashboard. Only six state-issued temporary housing units are occupied across the affected region, a stark reminder of the slow-moving recovery effort from what officials call the state’s worst natural disaster.
The storm made landfall in Florida on September 26 and swept through three states, killing 107 people and causing an estimated $60 billion in damage in North Carolina alone. The 29th week of recovery began this past weekend, and state and federal leaders continue to lobby for additional disaster funding from Raleigh and Washington.
According to the audit, 6,930 households were determined eligible for housing assistance. Of those, 2,727 have been housed through FEMA rental assistance or transitional sheltering. Another 503 households are actively seeking help but have not been approved for FEMA rental or transitional support. The majority—3,700 households—qualified for assistance but have chosen not to utilize it, possibly due to alternative living arrangements or a lack of available resources.
Only six state temporary housing units have been deployed: two in McDowell County, and one each in Ashe, Avery, Haywood, and Watauga counties.
Buncombe County, home to Asheville, remains one of the most heavily impacted areas. Of the 2,727 households currently housed, nearly a third—870—are located in Buncombe County. There, 727 families are receiving rental aid, while 143 remain in hotel shelters. An additional 131 households in the county are still seeking assistance.
As the 200-day mark passes, state and federal leaders face mounting pressure to accelerate housing aid and long-term rebuilding efforts, particularly for rural mountain communities still reeling from the storm’s devastation.
