Frigid temperatures impact recovery efforts for displaced Hurricane Helene survivors
Months after Hurricane Helene made landfall, a cold snap is gripping the Southeastern portion of the U.S., including in Asheville, North Carolina, where people still displaced by the storm are facing bitter temperatures that have dropped to the teens.
Helene made landfall on Sept. 26, near Perry, Florida. It slammed six states, causing widespread damage.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reports 103 storm-related fatalities in the state as of Dec. 4.
Frigid temperatures impact
Steve Crowell's home in western North Carolina was destroyed by Helene's wrath. He lived in a tent for weeks before moving to a camper van amid dropping temperatures, which are about 15 degrees below normal.
"I don't know how to explain it unless you do it. I mean, maybe not Mount Everest, but it was pretty cold here and it was really cold and then it warms back up, and cold," Crowell said.
Shana Levine's family, including her seven children, have spent two months in a shelter alongside dozens of others who lost housing during Helene.
"They're struggling, but they're managing it well," Levine said about her children. "I would say that it definitely has affected them and the aspect of losing everything."
Amid their struggles, Levine and her family have hope. They will leave the shelter this week for two camper vans, getting one step closer to a permanent home again.
The shelter they were staying in will close at the end of December as the lease on the space is up.
Helene recovery efforts
According to a preliminary report by the North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management, Helene's damage is likely to exceed $53 billion.
The historic storm and its aftermath caused more than 2,000 landslides, according to the USGS. It also damaged over 160 water and sewer systems, and at least 6,000 miles of roads, the state budget office reported.
As of Oct. 28, the White House reported the Biden administration had approved over $2.1 billion in federal assistance for people impacted by the devastation caused by Helene and Hurricane Milton, which made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, less than two weeks after Helene hit.
But recovery efforts have stalled in Congress. Lawmakers left Washington before Election Day without passing legislation to allocate funding and replenish the U.S. Small Business Administration's disaster loan fund. Upon returning from its recess, the Senate held a hearing to discuss plans for future funding, but no bill has been drafted.
The SBA says it is accepting new applications for disaster loans for when Congress provides funding.