Hurricane Helene rained historic hell on three University of North Carolina System schools when it rampaged through the western part of the state on Sept. 26. To varying degrees, the destructive weather system saturated the grounds, flooded buildings, created potable water problems, spawned mold, and shut down classroom instruction. In the aftermath, university officials are engrossed in paperwork to secure the lion’s share of recovery funding from FEMA and insurance payments.
UNC Asheville, Appalachian State University, and Western Carolina University will share portions of $20 million in legislative appropriations.UNC Asheville, Appalachian State University, and Western Carolina University will share portions of $20 million in legislative appropriations already approved as they struggle to return to normalcy.
Operations at the Morganton Campus of North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, the North Carolina Arboretum, PBS North Carolina, NC State 4-H Camps, and the East Carolina University dental clinic were directly impacted by the storm, according to information provided by the UNC System Office.
Other UNC System campuses across the state but out of the direct line of Helene’s devastation were indirectly impacted because some of their students, or students’ parents, live in counties designated under the Helene major-disaster declaration.
Attempts to obtain estimates of total monetary damages and claims filed were largely unsuccessful by press time. A FEMA spokeswoman told the Martin Center that the agency was working to gather the information. The N.C. Department of Insurance said that hurricane insurance claims are being handled by the N.C. Office of State Fire Marshal, which didn’t respond to requests for the data. The UNC System Office referred questions about damage claims to the individual campuses. And WCU said that its Cullowhee campus and Biltmore Park instructional site in Asheville did not sustain any structural damage and didn’t seek damage claims.
According to John Dougherty, UNC Asheville’s chief of staff and general counsel, UNCA “has estimated approximately $13 million in costs directly related to the hurricane. This figure encompasses inspections of all campus facilities and identified repairs, the support of students who remained on campus during the initial hurricane response, and the implementation of our academic continuity plans for the fall 2024 semester.”
Dougherty continued: “In addition to these direct costs, the university has experienced an estimated $3 million in lost revenue,” as well as the loss of “a building at 838 Riverside Drive, which it leases from the UNC Asheville Foundation. The building, valued at approximately $6 million, was critically damaged by stormwater flooding and is unusable.”
Dougherty told the Martin Center that UNCA “will continue to refine these estimates as our assessments progress.” However, “the university has not yet received any reimbursement from insurance or FEMA. […] FEMA has advised that applicants should not expect any funding until at least six months after the disaster declaration. University building damage has been assessed by the North Carolina Department of Insurance, and that process is progressing.”
Even when federal funding comes through, system officials are pessimistic about its sufficiency.Yet even when funding comes through, system officials are pessimistic about its sufficiency. “While insurance, federal funding, and other sources will ultimately address many of the hurricane recovery needs,” information provided by the UNC System Office said, “the most hard-hit institutions will have unmet capital costs that will not be covered by insurance or available federal aid. Additionally, students across the UNC System face immediate financial pressures from the storm that could derail their education without additional aid.”
The General Assembly appropriated the aforementioned $20 million for the UNC System during a special legislative session. That appropriation included:
- $5 million in emergency scholarship grants for up to $2,500 per eligible student. UNC Asheville, Appalachian State University, and Western Carolina University each will receive $800,000 because they were the worst affected campuses. Other universities’ pro-rata amounts are: East Carolina University, $235,729; Elizabeth City State University, $25,000; Fayetteville State University, $25,000; North Carolina A&T University, $69,282; N.C. Central University, $41,612; N.C. State University, $541,373; UNC-Chapel Hill, $429,212; UNC Charlotte, $653,112; UNC Greensboro, $202,566; UNC Pembroke, $59,777; UNC Wilmington, $247,769; UNC School of the Arts, $25,000; and Winston-Salem State University, $44,568.
- $5.5 million specifically for tuition grants for UNC Asheville students to address financial needs.
- $5 million for unmet funding needs for repairs and renovations not covered by insurance or available federal aid.
- $4.5 million to the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority, which administers financial aid and savings programs for higher education, along with necessary authorization needed to provide additional need-based aid to eligible students.
The General Assembly was still approving university relief legislation at the time of this writing. On Tuesday, Dec. 10, the House is scheduled for a vote to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of Senate Bill 382. (Senate Republicans overrode the veto on Dec. 2.) A section of that bill authorizes the UNC Asheville chancellor to convert any leftover funds from hurricane-related student tuition grants into discretionary funds to help the university.
As intimated by Chief of Staff Dougherty, UNC Asheville experienced the most physical damage of the three highly affected UNC schools, though that damage was not classified as severe. The institution also suffered the worst disruption of campus operations and the greatest disturbance of classroom instruction. Water and sewer infrastructure were inoperable, and electricity, running water, and internet were nonexistent for many days.
A Helene Recovery Hardship Grant program received over 550 applications in its first week.Mold remediation work had to be performed in Robinson Hall, which reopened Nov. 25. Additional air-quality testing was conducted in Robinson Hall, Rhoades Hall, and Rhoades Tower after remediation work was completed, and the buildings were deemed safe for occupancy.
Classes have been held virtually since the powerful storm and historic rainfall swamped the university. Residential housing, university dining, and parking were unavailable for 35 days. Credits will be extended for those fees on students’ spring 2025 bills. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers installed a mobile water-treatment facility on campus to provide potable drinking water after many days without it.
UNC Asheville chancellor Kimberly van Noort kept the campus and community apprised of university conditions through frequent blog posts after Helene’s devastation, including a post that commencement exercises will be held Dec. 13 as planned. A series of operational alerts and a FAQ section were also posted online.
“We are putting together a ‘resilience package’ to put forth during the next Board of Governors meeting and for the legislative session,” one FAQ post said. “This package [will] include, but not be limited to, a proposal for solar panels on university buildings, digging our own water wells, and other resources to ensure we can be more self-sufficient.”
On Oct. 22, van Noort announced a significant measure of the hurricane’s crushing impact: A Helene Recovery Hardship Grant program had received over 550 applications in its first week. The program awards hardship grants initially estimated to range from $50-$500 each to students and employees to assist with immediate needs, including temporary shelter, food, clothing, medical expenses, emergency repairs, and other associated recovery costs.
According to information posted online by Appalachian State University interim chancellor Heather Norris, all residence halls on the Boone campus are structurally sound and had minimal issues. Some academic buildings and the varsity gym sustained significant water damage from flooding, and one had no power for several days. The campus reopened by mid-October, 19 days after the storm hit, “thanks to hundreds of staff, faculty and students who have worked and volunteered hundreds of hours,” a chancellor’s message said.
The university’s Hickory campus had no major issues.
“Approximately 75 percent of our incurred and anticipated expenses are eligible for FEMA and/or insurance reimbursement,” Anna Oakes, App State senior director of public relations, told the Martin Center via email. “We also anticipate receiving additional relief funding from the state in Fiscal Year 2025, which would be allocated to any expenses for which federal or insurance reimbursement is not received.”
App State expects Next NC state financial aid for scholarships through a legislative provision.Oakes said that the $800,000 App State was appropriated under SB 743 for emergency grants for postsecondary students is intended to cover needs such as tuition, fees, living expenses, and other disaster-related expenses. Universities receiving these benefits have been provided guidelines for eligibility criteria and the application process, as well as for awarding and reporting requirements.
App State also expects Next NC state financial aid for scholarships through a legislative provision, as well as through UNC System secured funding for additional Next NC need-based scholarships. Those also have specific criteria for eligibility, awarding, and reporting, Oakes said.
“Our Disaster Relief Hub received and distributed approximately $3.91 million in private funding, allocated as bridge grants to students, faculty, and staff,” she said. In-person and online application processes directed students, faculty, and staff to specify how they were impacted by the storm, what their resulting financial needs were, and other criteria. Disaster-relief payments were bridge funds for personal, living, and other storm-related expenses, or helped to cover costs incurred due to damage or expenses related to their primary residence.
It remains unclear if those combined funds will be sufficient to cover all losses.
“The university incurred revenue losses due to canceled events or other missed opportunities,” Oakes said, citing the example of App State football offering refunds to ticket holders for the Liberty University game on Sept. 28. That contest was canceled due to Helene. Those ticket-holders were offered the opportunity to donate their refund to the Mountaineer Athletic Fund.
“If we receive FEMA reimbursement, thorough documentation will have to be submitted to demonstrate that the expenses were directly related to Helene response and recovery efforts,” Oakes said. “There is also a strict reconciliation process that will take place to ensure that these expenses are isolated and accounted for properly.”
Buildings impacted by Helene are insured through the N.C. Department of Insurance, Oakes said. Any insurance reimbursements will be for those specific buildings and will have to be used to reimburse the university for the incurred repair and remediation costs associated with those facilities.
Julia Hartbarger Duvall, senior media-relations coordinator at Western Carolina University, told the Martin Center in an email conversation that the university “is continuing to assess the needs of our students and employees and is working with the UNC System regarding relief funding requests.”
Western Carolina University is waiving the application fee for prospective students impacted by Hurricanes Helene or Milton.While the Cullowhee campus and Biltmore Park instructional site in Asheville did not sustain any structural damage, more than a quarter of WCU students live in the 16-county region of Western North Carolina impacted by the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. Nearly 30 percent of WCU employees live in the significantly impacted areas of Haywood, Buncombe, and Henderson counties.
Classes were suspended at WCU from Sept. 26 until Oct. 21, and campus was closed except for critical operations from Sept. 30 to Oct. 4, Duvall said. Campus opened on a limited basis Oct. 7-11, fall break fell Oct. 14-18, and classes resumed Oct. 21.
Looking ahead, WCU is waiving the application fee for prospective students impacted by Hurricanes Helene or Milton.
“Our students and employees are resilient, and to support their ever-changing needs as the recovery process continues, the university has set up emergency assistance funds for both WCU employees and students,” Duvall said. More information can be found on WCU’s website.
Dan E. Way is the senior communications manager in the North Carolina Department of State Treasurer. He was previously a writer for Carolina Journal and the editor of the Chapel Hill Herald.
This article was originally published at www.jamesgmartin.center
