A visit by President Donald Trump is planned Western North Carolina on Friday to visit locals affected by Hurricane Helena in late September.
The president and other US officials — as well as some local residents — have scrutinized the federal government’s response to the devastation in the months since Sept. 27, when Helen destroyed large parts of the Appalachian region, and in North Carolina alone it killed more than 100 people.
“During the transition, both President Trump and Vice President Vance reached out to me repeatedly to check in on Western North Carolina,” North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis told Fox News Digital in a statement ahead of the president’s visit. “It’s a testament to how much the recovery and rebuilding process is a priority for them. President Trump’s visit on Friday is welcome news for thousands of families facing a state of uncertainty when it comes to securing housing.”
North Carolina Republican Sen. Ted Budd similarly told Fox News Digital that he spoke with “the president and members of his team over the weekend, and the people of western North Carolina are among his top priorities.”
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Part of Swannano, NC, which was devastated by Hurricane Helene in late September, is seen covered in snow on January 10, 2025. (Steve Antle)
“They need a rebuilding chief who can cut through the red tape and get people what they need as quickly as possible, and President Trump will do just that. The people of Western North Carolina will not be forgotten by me or by the president,” Budd said.
Some residents continue to sleep in tents and campers despite the cold temperatures. Thousands more staying in hotel rooms funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through its Transitional Housing Assistance (TSA) program faced with the possibility of lifting from those premises in early January as the TSA deadline approached.
HURRICANE HELENE FORCES NORTH CAROLINA RESIDENTS TO SLEEP IN TENTS WHERE HOMES ONCE WERE
Displaced by Hurricane Helena, couple Victoria and Jeff display a sign that reads, “I need help, I lost everything in the flood,” in Asheville, NC, on October 29, 2024. (YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images)
FEMA officials reversed course this week, however, after receiving criticism and extended the deadline to May 26.
According to FEMA, more than 3,000 families are eligible for program extensions. More than 10,000 households accepted temporary shelter in hotels participating in the TSA program in consequences of hurricanesFEMA said last month, but most have since moved into longer-term housing.
Some people in hard-hit areas like Swannanoa and Burnsville, or in hard-to-reach places nestled in the Appalachian Mountains, are still living in tents or RVs where their homes once stood. (Cajun Navy 2016)
“Democrats don’t care about North Carolina. What they did with FEMA is so bad. FEMA is a whole [other] discussion, because it just complicates everything,” Trump said Wednesday in an exclusive interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, his first White House interview since his inauguration.
“So I’m stopping on Friday. I’m stopping in North Carolina – the first stop – because the Democrats have treated these people badly. And I’m stopping there. We’re going to make this thing right because they’re still suffering from the hurricanes of a few months ago,” the president continued. .
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Trump previously visited in October 2024 before the presidential election.
Jonathan “JP” Decker, executive director of the nonprofit recovery organization Mercury One, told Fox News Digital that the president’s visit will be a “blessing” for the people of Western North Carolina.
Trump previously visited in October 2024 before the presidential election. (Getty Images)
Mercury One donated everything from RVs to propane for Hurricane Helena survivors recovering from the deadly disaster. The nonprofit also stepped up paying for hotel rooms for those who were set to lose their TSA vouchers from FEMA this month.
“Western North Carolina Left Alone.”
“I’ve been there multiple times. I’ve seen one FEMA truck,” Decker said. “So when they finally heard from the President of the United States that … we’re going to help you, and the fact that [Trump is] Coming into town on Friday will be a huge blessing just to see someone looking around and taking notes, wow, nothing’s changed.”
FEMA EXTENDS TRANSITIONAL HOUSING PROGRAM FOR NORTH CAROLINANISTS DISPLACED DUE TO HURRICANE HELENA
A FedEx worker delivers packages to a trailer on Dec. 23, 2024 in Old Fort, N.C. The trailer was given to a Marine veteran from the Department of Veterans Affairs. (Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)
Decker, who has responded to numerous natural disasters and other humanitarian crises with Mercury One, said he has “never seen anything like what I saw in Western North Carolina without clearing the rubble.”
“We’ve helped support a lot of families to simply stay in hotels because FEMA threatened to cut off or just didn’t communicate to give up their … hotel vouchers,” Decker said. “FEMA thought about it, and then we stepped in and took care of them. But these kids who have to go to school every day and have to see that … it’s devastating because these families didn’t have any help, and they had to understand : What shall we do after this?”
WATCH: NC LOCALS WAIT IN LONG LINES FOR PROPANE
FEMA said people checking out of their temporary homes are returning to or have moved out of habitable homes FEMA assistance.
“Under President Biden, FEMA’s failure to act and communicate quickly has put vulnerable families at risk because of the freezing temperatures outside,” Tillis told Fox News Digital. “Despite our continued pressure, FEMA has made little progress in providing direct housing solutions for those most affected by Helena. Things will change under President Trump, and his visit shows that his administration is as committed to the people of Western North Carolina as he promised during the campaign .”
AMERICANS SPEND THANKSGIVING IN TENTS AS IT IS STILL DIFFICULT TO FIND HEAT, ELECTRICITY, FOOD
Kris Weil sleeps in a tent outside her home that was destroyed during Hurricane Helena. (Fox News Digital)
Tillis said he “looks forward to working with the Trump-Vance administration to ensure that all available federal resources are deployed and that the red tape that prevents families from accessing housing is eliminated.”
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On his first day in office, Trump announced that he would visit North Carolina and California due to the devastating natural disasters in both states.
He implicitly referred to areas of the Smoky Mountains that were decimated by Hurricane Helena, arguing that Democrats abandoned the Tar Heel State after the historic storm hit parts of North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.
Fox News’ Charles Crietz contributed to this report.
