9 months after Irene, people in NC still suffer

While Irene did more damage in the Northeast, states farther south are more likely to take a lashing from tropical weather during the new hurricane season that started June 1. The remnants of Tropical Storm Beryl late last month did little damage in North Carolina but served as a reminder of the urgency to rebuild houses before more storms arrive.

Irene caused $15 billion in damage and killed 49 people across an area that stretched from the Carolinas to Vermont. North Carolina took the hardest hit in the Southeast, with at least $1.2 billion in damage, not including uninsured crop losses.

Its like how I expected, said Charles McKinney, a volunteer who came to Virginia. When something like this happens, when it first happens, you have all the media attention, you have the FEMAs and the insurance people. And everybody descends upon the area. But three months this has been close to a year later, and these people still have no homes.

About 2,200 households in Pamlico County, which has a population of about 13,000 people, registered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and 104 households received a temporary housing unit from FEMA, a local volunteer leader says. More than 350 people completed the grant application for either buyout or elevation assistance.

The founder of Eight Days of Hope, Steve Tybor, said that while Katrina caused the most damage of any disaster hes seen, he finds the situation in Pamlico County more shocking because so much time has elapsed since the storm.

People dont realize people are still living in homes that are like they were the day after Irene, he said.

Pamlico County is the ninth area visited by Tybors faith-based group, which is based in his hometown of Tupelo, Miss. Tybor started it after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast in 2005. Its volunteers descend upon a disaster-stricken area for eight days to repair houses. The 1,685 volunteers in North Carolina came from 43 states, Canada and Australia.

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9 months after Irene, people in NC still suffer