How should South Carolina spend $150M in federal hurricane aid?
NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - It’s now been eight months since Category 4 Hurricane Helene hit South Carolina and Georgia, and we’re still far from recovered.
Hurricane season, however, won’t wait for us. In fact, it starts on June 1.
The state of South Carolina has received more than $150 million in aid from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for Hurricane Helene recovery – and part of it could be used for preventing the same disaster we just went through.
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The South Carolina Office of Resilience is looking for your input on how to spend the aid money. The agency held public information hearings Tuesday in North Augusta and Aiken and plans one in Orangeburg.
Helene was the sort of ordeal that burned itself into long-term memory.
“There were trees down everywhere,” said Jackson McGahee, a homeowner.
“I hate to use such a commonly used word, but it did look like a bomb went off,” said McGahee.
Hurricane Helene hit Hammond Hills with a fury like no other.
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“This area was smashed up pretty bad,” he said.
Eight months later, rootballs still fill yards, tarps cover roofs and trash bins line the streets in the neighborhood.
McGahee is not only a homeowner in Hammond Hills but also a property manager familiar with the obstacles preventing his neighbors from rebuilding.
“You had a lot of people who came out of town to make the money off of the storm,” said McGahee. “They’re also negotiating with their insurance companies, and that can be a time-consuming process.”
Aiken County is one of the only six counties in South Carolina that the federal government has deemed as most impacted and distressed from Hurricane Helene, which means 80% or more than $120 million in grant money will go to help people still struggling to repair or rebuild.
The other five counties include Anderson, Greenville, Greenwood, Laurens and Spartanburg counties.
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“I hope the money is delegated and appropriated appropriately,” said McGahee. “There needs to be meetings and needs to be what the highest best use of those funds is.”
State leaders are breaking down the who, what, when and how in public meetings throughout the county on Tuesday.
At the public meetings, officials will present a draft of an action plan outlining how the funds will be used.
Most of the money will go toward housing, from repairs to rebuilding to buyouts and rental assistance.
Funds will not go directly to people, but instead to workers contracted with the state to do the work.
Funds can only go to help people currently in need, not to reimburse money already spent to make repairs.
Priority will go to the most vulnerable: low-income, disabled and seniors still in need.
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If you aren’t able to make it to Tuesday’s meetings in Aiken County, it’s not too late to share your thoughts on how the federal money should be spent . Fill out a survey online if you can’t make it to a meeting.
The Orangeburg meeting will be June 10 at the Orangeburg County Conference Center from 6-8 p.m.
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