The Federal Emergency Management Agency rejected North Carolina’s request to match 100 % of the state’s funds to clean Helen, according to a letter sent from the VEMA official, Acting to the governor of North Carolina.
“After a thorough and comprehensive review of all available information, including mentioned in your initial request to amend the cost and attractive share, we concluded that the extension of the federal cost share is 100 percent to remove debris and emergency protection measures, including direct federal assistance for 180 days under the main disasters in the large advertisement of Fema-4827-DR.
The cost sharing request comes from the directives of the Biden administration to match 100 % of the state’s money to exchange disaster cleaning costs after Hurricane Helen destroyed the state as a storm of September 4 in September 2024.
More than 230 people were killed by the storm, with at least 72 in Boncumb Province, North Carolina, alone, amid standard floods throughout the West Carolina state.
On March 29, 2025, a file image, a mark outside the FEMA recovery center sees at the Vervio Public Library in Vervio, North Carolina.
Alison Joyce/Getty Embs, file
During his visit to North Carolina in January, President Donald Trump criticized the Biden administration for what he said he was not doing enough to provide relief.
Trump claimed that former President Joe Biden “did a bad job” in helping North Caroline in the wake of the hurricane, saying: “This is completely unacceptable, and I will take a strong action.”
Traditionally, there is a cost -sharing model with a federal absorption of 75 % of costs to 25 % for the states, but this was changed under the Biden management to match the costs by 100 %.
It is not clear how FEMA will divide the costs between the states and the federal government to reduce disasters in the future.
On September 28, 2024, a file, Scott Richardson, marketed his collapsed and destroyed house in the wake of the tropical storm Helen, in Bonn, North Carolina.
Jonathan Drake/Reuters, file
In a statement, North Carolina Governor Josh Stein said the refusal would cost the state’s residents “hundreds of millions of dollars.”
He said, “The money that we must pay towards removing the debris means less money towards supporting our small business, rebuilding the infrastructure in the city center, and repairing water, sanitation systems and other critical needs,” he said.
The financing discussion is caused as the Ministry of Internal Security, which includes FEMA, weighs how the agency is eliminated while continuing to grant state financing for disasters.
This is October 5, 2024, the file of the file, the resident enters the improvised Fema station to attend the demands of the local population affected by the floods after the death of Hurricane Helen, in Marion, North Carolina.
Eduardo Monoz/Reuters, file
In the midst of the plan, there is the Minister of Internal Security Christie Nom, who was weighing how the agency was lowering after Trump said in January that he “will start the reform and reform process mainly in FEMA, or perhaps get rid of it”, and announced that Fema review in A. Presidential work on January 24.
“The president indicated that he wanted to eliminate FEMA as it exists today and that countries have more control over the response of the emergency management,” Nayyim said on May 8, adding that the agency “failed” in its mission and must be canceled or reduced. “He wants to enable and support local governments and how they respond to their people,”
Fema did not respond to ABC News for comment.
However, an internal review of the Fema indicated this month that the agency is “ready” for the 2025 hurricane season.
The review said: “With the transformation of the Fema into a smaller imprint, the intention of this hurricane season is not well understood, and therefore the Fema is not ready,” noting the restrictions of employment, employment and lack of coordination with countries as the Trump administration is trying to reorganize and reduce the Fema.
North Carolina is the second country that was rejected by the FEMA request after the agency rejected Arkansas for disaster relief when severe storms and hurricanes struck the state in March.
The decision also comes at a time when the United States expects a hurricane higher than the average on the Atlantic Coast this year, with between the 13 and 19 storms called.
