Hurricane Florence is gone, but the challenges for the Carolinas have just begun

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is trying to prove itself after the post-Maria reaction debacle in Puerto Rico. Although President Trump celebrated this effort as a success, the agency itself acknowledged that it was understaffed and underestimated what it would need.

Brock Long, Mr. Trump's FEMA leader, received praise for the agency's response to hurricanes Harvey and Irma, but was monitored for his use of government vehicles. In April, Long announced that North Carolina would be the first state where FEMA staff would be integrated into a national emergency management agency.

Governor Roy Cooper of North Carolina, a Democrat, must also prove himself after criticizing the fact that his administration has spent only a fraction of the funding of the disaster that Congress has allocated to the United States. State after Hurricane Matthew. (Mr. Cooper's office notes that the state has spent a total of $ 751 million in public, local and federal money for Matthew's recovery, and the governor and leaders plan a special session dedicated to helping Florence.)

Governor Henry McMaster of South Carolina, a Republican, also has something to prove – that he can step out of the shadow of former Gov. Nikki Haley. McMaster, the former lieutenant governor, rose to power last year when Haley joined the Trump administration. He is now facing the most important test of his term, weeks before voters decide whether he got a full term in Colombia.

More than a week after the storm hit shore as a Category 1 hurricane, the magnitude of the devastation is still apparent. In North Carolina, dozens of wastewater treatment plants have been shut down, flooded or compromised, according to FEMA. Four lagoons receiving pig waste have failed, nine others flooded and four exceeded.

Another potential biological hazard is poultry. Andrea Ashby, a spokeswoman for the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, said the storm and flood had killed 3.4 million chickens or turkeys. A FEMA report released on Thursday said millions of "affected" chickens were in rural Lenoir alone. But in a fog of war sign, two County County officials of Lenoir – Bryan Hanks, spokesman for the county, and Tammy Kelly, director of cooperative extension – said they had heard of no deaths. bird.