President Trump’s visit to North Carolina brings hope to hurricane survivors

Asheville, NC – Visit of President Donald Trump on January 24 Western North Carolina – His second since Hurricane Helene devastated large parts of the Southeast on Sept. 27, and his first visit since becoming president – on Friday brought hope to survivors.

Fox News Digital spoke with multiple locals during Trump’s visit to hard-hit Swannanoa, where homes along the Swannanoa River were literally swallowed downstream During a destructive hurricane Exactly four months ago on Monday.

“It was hell,” Swannanoa resident Michelle, who only wanted to be identified by her first name, told Fox News Digital.

Michelle lives in a makeshift RV park off the main road in Swannanoa, where about seven or eight other locals whose homes were destroyed in the hurricane are living in RVs and tents donated by various charities.

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Many are still struggling to find safe housing, Michelle said, noting that many families with children have received small home donations from charities, but it would not be enough to keep these families alive long-term.

Along with housing, many locals lost their jobs in the hurricane when warehouses and businesses were destroyed by flooding or other damage.

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Emily Russell was seven months pregnant when her home near the river flooded up to her chest. She and her dog sat on floating mattresses and waited for help because there was no other way out.

“It’s been really crazy since then. There’s been no help, really, other than the volunteers and the churches that we’ve been grateful for,” Russell told Fox News Digital. “They came and really helped us a lot because we had to push the house in and rebuild it. And then, like I said, I was pregnant at the time, so we had to hurry and try to at least get him to Živahni before the baby came.”

“Of course I applied for FEMA [aid] And various state aid, but none of it really helped in any way,” added Russell.

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Many residents who spoke with Fox News Digital on Friday said that while they have received some assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), it is not enough and there is too much red tape in applying for and actually receiving assistance, whether it is be it financial or housing assistance.

Scores of people across western North Carolina are still sleeping in tents and RVs more than 100 days after the storm hit the area in the early morning hours of Sept. 27. Most privately owned RVs are donated to local and national charities, like Samaritan’s Purse and the Cajun Navy, which works with RV Emergency to donate used and new RVs. Others are staying in agency-donated campers at designated FEMA-designed sites.

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Russell said she and other locals were excited Trump was making his second visit to the town, which has about 5,000 inhabitants.

“We’re hopeful. I just think he’s the one who can make a big difference, and we’re just excited.”

– Emily Russell, Swannanoo resident

“The fact that he’s back, especially in Swannanoa … a little bit of a nowhere town, and he’s here … it just makes you feel hopeful that we’re going to start getting help and seeing a big change,” Russell said. “We’re glad he’s here. We’re hopeful. I just really think he’s the one who can make a big difference, and we’re just excited. This little town needed a little help, so that’s really cool.”

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A Swannanoo resident who only wanted to be identified as Vicky, who also lost her home and now lives in a camper donated by a church group, told Fox News Digital she was “excited” about the president’s visit.

“I hope he sees how bad it still is and sticks to his word and does something about it.”

– Vicky, Swannanoo resident

“He was here in October and he wasn’t even president then,” Vicky noted.

When asked what the locals needed most, Vicky said more “housing would be great” or a financial means of accommodation.

“We got our FEMA money – and we’re putting it toward all of that, which is nowhere near enough to cover everything,” she explained. “We were short of debt. And at this point, we’re going to go back into debt for the home because we have no choice.”

Danny Bailey, or “Uncle Danny,” as locals know him, also believes the new administration will help hurricane survivors get relief.

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“Even if it’s just helping us financially or bringing people here to say, ‘Okay, we’ll build you a house… because what Fema did was good, but it wasn’t good enough,'” Bailey said. “And the fact that he came here after the flood shows that he cares enough to do something.”

Bailey lost his home and said two charities donated two camps to keep him alive after the storm. Another man from Mexico who now lives in North Carolina helped clean up debris on his property for free, Bailey said.

The president visited two North Carolina cities during his visit Friday and asked a group of Swannanos residents to take the microphone and share their stories at his last stop before heading to California to visit areas affected by the Wildfire.

Hurricane survivors who met Trump shared what the president’s visit meant to them:

“I will also sign an executive order to begin the process of fundamental reform and Repeating FEMAor maybe get rid of FEMA,” Trump told reporters in North Carolina on Friday morning. I think, frankly, FEMA is not good. “

Trump also promised that his administration would step in and help North Carolina repair the damage quickly, promising to “do a good job” for the state.

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“We’re going to fix it and we’re going to fix it as quickly as possible,” Trump said. “It’s a huge amount of damage. FEMA really failed us. Bring the country down. And I don’t know if it’s Biden’s fault or whose fault it is, but we’re going to take it. We’re going to do a good job.”

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Hurricane Helena created billions of dollars worth of damage when it destroyed homes, farms and critical infrastructure such as roads, bridges and power lines. Sections of highways connecting North Carolina and Tennessee they have been closed since the end of September.

More than 100 people died from the hurricane in North Carolina alone, and the death toll totaled more than 230 in six states, including South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia and Florida.