NC Governor Stein talks storm response, future of federal funding help

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — When Chantal swept through Central North Carolina with heavy rain and intense flooding, it left behind a major mess. That’s now in the hands of local governments and communities.

“These storms, the immediate response, is always local. It’s the local sheriff, local police, it’s their emergency management crews, and they are in regular communication, practically hourly communication with our folks with emergency management,” Governor Josh Stein said.

The local nature of the storm didn’t warrant a statewide state of emergency declaration. That’s normal and emergency management leaders say that’s the way storm responses are designed to work.

“We have some state declaration programs that we can turn on that are based on damage assessments locally, so those are things we’re going to assess right now,” Will Ray, Director of the state’s Emergency Management, said.

But still, local communities often need state or federal help. Governor Stein says the state will offer any and all resources. But he’s concerned about the future of the federal side.

“There are real funding concerns with the federal government, a lot of our emergency management personnel is paid for from federal funding, we’ve been working hard to secure that funding so we don’t experience widespread layoffs,” the Governor said.

To account for any lapses there, the Governor says the state needs to be financially able to fend for itself.

“I’m concerned that the General Assembly has not yet passed a budget. We’re working off of last year’s budget, we need a new budget that will make sure that our state emergency management is well funded,” he said.

In these instances, local governments can declare their own state of emergency so they can access funding and mobilize resources. When Chantal hit, four counties did so.