Washington sends $1.7 billion to the Carolinas in Hurricane Florence aid
WASHINGTON _ Congress is sending $1.7 billion to the storm-ravaged Carolinas.
The Senate Wednesday overwhelming approved legislation granting North Carolina's request for $1.14 billion and South Carolina's request for $540 million. The House passed the same bill last week, and now the measure heads to President Donald Trump for his signature.
This is the first influx of federal funding lawmakers on Capitol Hill have expressly designated for long-term recovery efforts after Hurricane Florence _ and it won't be the last.
Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., told McClatchy the federal government would "absolutely" have to approve more money in the future to address the mass devastation in his state and in South Carolina from last month's storm.
He couldn't, however, predict when the states would need more money, or the final price tag.
Hurricane Florence caused record flooding and damaging winds, displacing thousands and killing 50 people so far in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, which also felt some of the brunt of the storm. The devastation is still being assessed.
When the storm began, the Federal Emergency Management Agency had $25 billion for short-term recovery efforts. Once Florence had passed, elected officials in both states requested "down payments" in existing funding through the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Relief Program.
_McClatchy Washington Bureau
