More than two months after flash floodwaters ripped through central North Carolina, funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency is headed to the affected areas and local governments.
A release from FEMA on Friday confirmed the major disaster declaration — announced Thursday afternoon first by President Donald Trump and then by North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein — saying Public Assistance federal funding is now available to the state, tribal and local governments alongside nonprofit aid organizations. The funding will help cover “emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by Tropical Depression Chantal in Alamance, Caswell, Chatham, Durham, Moore, Orange and Person counties,” according to the release.
In a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, Stein said FEMA and Trump’s administration also committed to providing money for Hurricane Helene recovery in western North Carolina as well. The total assistance for both disasters being provided, according to Trump’s own post on the Truth Social platform, is $32 million.
“It’s all hands on deck, and I thank him for helping North Carolina rebuild,” Stein said of Trump after the two spoke on the phone. “I look forward to working with the administration to deliver critical resources to NC. Let’s get it done.”
Trump, meanwhile, used the opportunity to take political shots at Stein’s predecessor, Gov. Roy Cooper, and compliment Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Budd and Cooper’s 2026 Senate race opponent Michael Whatley. He also referenced how he won North Carolina in each of the primary and general elections he has run in, and said his administration “did a great job of bringing North Carolina BACK!”
Tropical Depression Chantal dumped historic levels of rain on parts of central North Carolina the night of July 6 into July 7, with rivers and creeks experiencing catastrophic flash flooding from the amount of water. In Orange County, some areas reported up to 10 inches of rain in just a few hours time, leading to significant flooding in low-lying areas and ones nearby to water. First responders conducted dozens of water rescues and responded to nearly 8,000 different 911 calls across the county during the span of the storm. The Orange County government’s estimates say it suffered more than $24 million in public assistance damages, and while overall property damage is estimated to exceed $56 million.
After the local governments declared a state of emergency from the extreme weather on July 11, Stein’s administration issued its own emergency declaration on July 16. The Small Business Administration followed with a declaration to help provide loans on July 26 before Stein and the state government authorized individual assistance grants to be released on Aug. 5. In the announcement of North Carolina’s grants, the Democratic governor urged FEMA and the Trump administration to approve a disaster declaration, pointing to the damage estimates surpassing the minimum indicators to qualify.
Flash flood waters damaged many homes and businesses in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, with Hillsborough and parts of Mebane also seeing significant flooding and damage on July 6, 2025. This photo from Eastgate Crossing Shopping Center in Chapel Hill shows how quickly water rose after just a couple hours of rain from Tropical Depression Chantal. (Photo via Joe Nanney.)
While the Chantal damage requests are more recent, the lack of Hurricane Helene funding has caught more national attention recently as the state approaches the anniversary of the natural disaster in western North Carolina. The $12 million in grants approved earlier this week by the Department of Homeland of Security, which FEMA operates within, will go toward rebuilding infrastructure and vital resources in the impacted region and builds upon the $322 million commitment made by FEMA to help with Helene recovery. But with an estimated $60 billion in total damage, Stein’s office pointed out in August the lack of more help by the federal government. Several reports from the hurricane-affected communities detail how the lack of funding holds up their rebuilds and how Whatley — designated as the western North Carolina recovery “czar” by Trump — has not visited the region for recovery-related purposes.
On Tuesday, McClatchy-owned newspapers published an interview with Budd on his displeasure with FEMA’s lack of response to Hurricane Helene funding requests, citing that reason for his recent votes to hold Department of Homeland Security nominees. Budd singled out his frustration with the slow approval of projects after Sec. Kristie Noem said she is “personally reviewing” any spending by FEMA that is more than $100,000 before it gets sent to recipients.
Friday’s FEMA release about Chantal’s major disaster declaration did not mention any activation of the agency’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which was something Stein and his office advocated for in August. The program provides federal funding to eligible governments not just for rebuilding or repairing storm-related damage, but doing so “in a way that reduces, or mitigates, future disaster losses in their communities.”
The Trump administration named Brett H. Howard as the federal coordination officer for the federal-related recovery operations in central North Carolina. According to LinkedIn, Howard has worked with the agency since 2019.
Featured image via Henry Taylor/Chapel Hill Media Group.
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