As crews from the Federal Emergency Management Agency continue search and rescue operations throughout Buncombe County, North Carolina, other FEMA teams are helping people impacted by Helene get federal assistance.
To date, across the state of North Carolina, FEMA has approved 28,000 applications for assistance for over $37 million, and in Buncombe County, 14,500 applications have been approved for about $15.9 million.
Disaster Survivor Assistance Teams are active throughout the county to help people who can register themselves.
The assistance provided by FEMA is in the form of a grant, not a loan, and recipients will not be expected to pay it back.
A variety of assistance options are available, including serious needs assistance, displacement assistance, housing assistance, rental assistance, mental health crisis counseling, and prescription drug assistance.
Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer has been in touch with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and praised the federal disaster response, stating, 'We have a very well-coordinated, large effort of a federal response underway here on the ground in Asheville and in the county where Asheville is located, and our surrounding areas.'
