LUMBERTON, NC (WBTW) – North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper visited the Robeson Rebuild Application Center Tuesday morning to get a progress report on Hurricane Matthew recovery efforts. He also vowed to continue efforts to get the appropriate funding to victims.
Governor Cooper said his team is working to get money to victims through community development block grants and disaster relief funds. He said the storm caused more than $4 billion worth of damage to the state and his staff is working to pour more money into the recovery efforts.
“The fact that $630 million has been distributed statewide but there is still a lot of work to do. And people are going to bare down and make sure that help gets to people who need it,” said Gov. Cooper. “And one of the reasons I’m here is to show my support and say we’ve got to move to make sure people get this funding and victims get help. And I think that’s critical.” He also assured victims that he is working “very closely with the county to get those funds out as quickly as possible.”
Another top priority of his visit was to make residents aware that the application center is open. He encouraged victims to stop by and apply for help. He said, so far, more than 700 people in Robeson county have applied for assistance. That includes Councilman John Cantey.
Cantey told News13 he filed for assistance in January. He said he’s still in the first phase of the process that consists of about 8 steps. According to him, about 325 families in the area are still homeless. He said Hurricane Matthew caused more than $88,000 worth of damage to his house when two feet of water seeped inside.
“I live in a 500-year flood zone which means in 500 years, there’s like a one percent it’s going to flood there. But the water came from a few miles away. So I was just a victim,” said Cantey.
He also said he received $15,000 from FEMA but it wasn’t enough for repairs. That’s when he filed for assistance at the Robeson Rebuild Application Center and is hoping to get reimbursed in about a year. He said he trusts Governor Cooper when he says funding is on the way but he just wants the money to get to victims more quickly.
“The Governor is a man of his word. I’m going to trust in what he told us. I do believe it but it’s just that, if he can get the money here a little faster. That’s what we need,” Cantey said.
This week is Hurricane Preparedness Week and Governor Cooper is urging families to start getting ready. He also said he’s working to make sure emergency response teams are coordinating well with counties.