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As the waters receded, the focus of the state was on helping those with immediate needs and developing long-term strategies that would help North Carolina prepare for the next storm, Governor Roy Cooper said Thursday.
At the latest in almost daily press conferences since Hurricane Florence hit two weeks ago, Cooper said most rivers should return to their banks early next week and that the number of dead has reached 37.
The most recent death was that of an 85-year-old man who had contracted an infection in a wound that he had sustained in the leg while he was cleaning up thunderstorm debris in the New Hanover County. He died on September 25th. No other details were available.
Cooper said that so far, the majority of deaths were due to people driving on flooded roads and again urged people to consider road closures and barricades.
"We do not want to lose anyone," he said.
Parts of 270 roads remained closed on Thursday, most of the secondary roads damaged by flooding, said Transportation Secretary Jim Trogdon. The NTC Department of Transportation estimates that it will cost about $ 100 million to make repairs, although this number is expected to increase as the retreat will reveal additional damage, Trogdon said.
Starting Friday, people who live in the 27 counties hardest hit by the storm and who are not already receiving government food aid can apply for a debit card that they can use to buy from food or refrigerator that has lost power for a prolonged period. Health and Social Services Secretary Mandy Cohen has stated that she expects 300,000 people to be eligible for the D-SNAP program and that they have access to the D-SNAP program. eight days to apply.
Cohen said that they can go to www.ncdhhs.gov or call 211 to find out where to apply in person and said that those who qualify will leave with the debit card that day. She said the card would be charged with $ 192 for an individual and $ 640 for a family of four.
About 1,500 people remain in shelters, Cooper said, against 20,000 just after the storm. He said that the state and the Federal Emergency Management Agency were working on temporary housing for people who had lost their homes and that 560 were already registered.
Among the other short-term measures, Cooper said the state would spend $ 4 million to fight mosquitoes in the counties of the affected areas.
More than 94,000 people have registered for FEMA assistance, already exceeding the total after Hurricane Matthew, said Albert Lewis, who leads the agency's North Carolina efforts. Lewis said 350 FEMA disaster assistance teams are going door-to-door to register more and that the agency was looking to hire 180 local residents to help them out. He added that the agency's employees will wear "FEMA clothing" and that residents should ask to see their identity before speaking to them.
Anyone with a house damaged by Florence can sign up for disaster assistance by calling 1-800-621-FEMA or go to www.disasterassistance.gov/.
According to the Employment Security Division, 12,200 North Carolines on Wednesday demanded emergency unemployment benefits related to the storm. Some employers have shut down and some are inaccessible, and workers have been evacuated or lost their cars, said DES spokesman Larry Parker. What complicates the situation is the transition of the agency to a new computer system, which requires the closure of computers used to process applications for unemployment. The agency always accepts requests online and over the phone. The computer system will be backed up online on Friday morning, Parker said. The agency advises candidates to be patient because each unemployment application must be individually verified by contacting the employer.
Cooper spoke more broadly about long-term strategies to help North Carolina weather a future storm better. He spoke of the need to build more "resilient" roads and communities and more affordable housing in areas affected by the storm. He said there should be a state program to buy homeowners or raise their homes in flooded areas for people who do not qualify for federal assistance.
Cooper also that the state should help communities make their treatment plants less vulnerable to flooding and should buy pork waste lagoons in areas prone to flooding.
"I know that people in North Carolina have the courage and the will to recover," he said. "I know our state is determined, and I know we will recover smarter and stronger than ever."
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