Years after Hurricanes Florence and Matthew, resiliency the focus of NC recovery efforts

When Hurricane Florence rumbled ashore over Wrightsville Beach in September 2018 and then dropped anchor over Southeastern North Carolina for 36 hours, the strong Category 1 storm dumped more than 2 feet of rain on much of Southeastern North Carolina, with Elizabethtown in Bladen County reporting nearly 3 feet of precipitation, according to the National Weather Service.

When Mother Nature decides to drop that much moisture over such a short period of time, officials say there's little that can be done to prepare. But what communities can do, and in many cases have done in the wake of repeated natural disasters in recent years, is be better positioned to bounce back. And when it does come time to rebuild from damage inflicted by storm and flooding events, to do so in a way that reduces the risk of people and property being put back into harms way.

"Do we just fix it or do we look at it from a resiliency point of view, and that's what we're doing a lot these days after our recent experiences," said Keith Eason, division maintenance engineer with the N.C. Department of Transportation's Wilmington division.

Eason joined nearly 50 federal, state and local officials recently on a bus tour sponsored by the nonprofit American Flood Coalition of areas impacted by Florence four years ago. While some of the sites, like bridges along Interstate 40 and U.S. 421 north of Wilmington, had been fixed or reinforced, others, like the dams in Boiling Spring Lakes, remain broken eyesores to the frustration of residents. Officials also visited areas where steps are being taken to mitigate the lingering impacts of the storm's widespread flooding, including a stream debris-removal project in Burgaw and the future site of affordable housing in Wilmington to replace apartments damaged by the hurricane.

The tour was mostly upbeat, with officials pointing out the steps they are taking to be proactive to be better able to mitigate flooding and repeated damage from not only hurricanes but other heavy rain events.

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That included speaker after speaker noting the huge sums of money that federal and state lawmakers have made available for resiliency projects − something that hasn't happened before.

"It is a rich funding environment, the best we've seen in decades, and a lot of it is dedicated to investing in planning so we know what decisions will be the right decisions, best decisions to make moving forward," said Dr. Amanda Martin, North Carolina's chief resilience officer.

That financial firehose includes nearly $800 million state legislators have earmarked for disaster recovery, flood prevention and other needs in the 2021-23 budget. And the biggest climate investment bill ever adopted by Washington, President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, includes $369 billion to battle climate change.

Rocky road ahead?

Still, with scientists warning that a warming planet will mean more powerful storms dumping rain in increasing amounts over short periods of time mixed in with hurricane-driven storm surge fueled by sea-level rise pummeling beaches and other low-lying areas, there's only so much that can be done when immovable objects like homes, highways and other infrastructure meet geographic and other realities on the ground.

Time also might not be the side for quick solutions, with two 500-year flood events − Hurricanes Matthew and Florence − hitting Eastern North Carolina within two years of each other.

And building back better isn't always politically popular, quick or affordable.

"Funding always comes into play when we're looking at projects and being realistic about what we can do," DOT's Eason said, noting that a study found doing complete resiliency makeovers of I-40 and I-95 − Eastern North Carolina's main arteries that often flood during heavy rain events − could cost up to $1.5 billion.

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Bureaucracy and red tape also sometimes creates natural inertia for quick action, especially when it comes to implementing new or expanded programs. The pandemic and labor problems haven't helped, either.

At a legislative hearing in Raleigh earlier this month, Laura Hogshead, director of the N.C. Office of Recovery and Resiliency, reported that nearly 800 of roughly 4,200 homeowner projects funded with federal money earmarked for Matthew recovery efforts have been completed. But more than 1,100 new applicants are either waiting for a contractor to sign on for the government-funded work or for the contractor to begin work. Federal funds allocated for the recovery efforts must be spent by June 2026.

Even if the process of building a more resilient community can be rocky and often requires breaking new ground, officials say it is the smartest way to invest in a future being buffeted by climate change.

Tony McEwen, Carolinas director for the American Flood Coalition, said the political and financial climate is right for communities and residents to embrace resiliency as a necessary next step toward building a sustainable future, even if that can require tough decisions on where people should live or be allowed to rebuild.

“North Carolina is one of those states that seems to get hit year after year, and it doesn’t require a major hurricane to cause a major problem," he said. "But the legislature, to their credit, realize that every dollar you spend on the front end can save up to $7 on the back end. They get it. Those historic investments they made in the last budget show they're willing to put those resources where their mouth is.

"And by doing that, they've made that conversation that we need to have easier."

Reporter Gareth McGrath can be reached at GMcGrath@Gannett.com or @GarethMcGrathSN on Twitter. This story was produced with financial support from 1Earth Fund and the Prentice Foundation. The USA TODAY Network maintains full editorial control of the work.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Hurricane Florence: Resiliency the focus as NC recovery continues