Institute Index: One year after Helene

By Chris Kromm / September 25, 2025

Helene Damage Signs

A sign near a closed mountain road in Watauga County, North Carolina after Hurricane Helene. The storm displaced more than 200,000 people and caused nearly $60 billion in damage in North Carolina alone. (Photo: Chris Kromm)

Date on which Hurricane Helene made landfall in southwest Florida as a Category 4 hurricane: 9/26/24

Last time the region affected by Helene had experienced the level of flooding brought by the storm: 1916

Number of people who lost their lives as a result of Helene, according to an April 2025 report by the National Hurricane Center: 250

Number of those that were in North Carolina: 108

Rank of Helene among deadliest hurricanes in the United States over the last 50 years: 2

Number of homes in North Carolina damaged by the storm: 126,000

Number of private roads and bridges in NC that experienced significant damage: more than 8,000

Estimated economic damage in North Carolina resulting from the storm: $59.6 billion

Amount of federal assistance for Helene allocated or received to date in North Carolina: $5.17 billion

Share of Helene’s total NC disaster costs that federal assistance covers: 9%

Share of disaster costs the federal government covered after Hurricane Maria struck in 2017: 73%

Share of disaster costs the federal government covered after Hurricane Sandy in 2012: 78%

Amount of the $5.17 billion in federal aid that has reached NC so far: just over $800 million

Percent of North Carolina water systems that are back online after the storm: 96%

Percent of state-maintained roads that have been reopened: 97%

Percent of its staff FEMA had lost under the Trump administration as of May 2025: about 25%

Number of trained staff FEMA had available to respond to disasters at the beginning of the 2017 hurricane season: 6,588

Number it had as of May 2025: 1,952

Amount that FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program allocated after Helene to fund projects to reduce future storm damage to buildings: $1.6 billion

Number of homes that FEMA has approved to date to receive the program's funding: 0

Number of current and former FEMA staff who signed a letter protesting the Trump administration's "devastating attacks on FEMA programs and missions": 191

Number of states, including North Carolina, that sued the Trump administration this summer over FEMA funding cuts: 20

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