On Fourth Anniversary of Hurricane Florence, NC, is Taking Important Proactive Steps to Protect Against Climate Change

(RALEIGH, NC – Sept. 14, 2022)  On September 14, 2018, Hurricane Florence made landfall at Wrightsville Seaside as a class one hurricane. Greater than 30 inches of rain fell in elements of jap North Carolina because the storm hovered over the state within the days following landfall. The injury was important: 42 fatalities had been reported in North Carolina, and injury estimates exceeded $16 billion. 

Following the storm, EDF coordinated with state businesses, native governments and nonprofits to develop a plan and finances to strengthen North Carolina’s resilience to the more and more damaging results of local weather change. That work, led by NC Rep. John Bell and NC Sen. Jim Perry, culminated within the growth of a state finances which allotted roughly $300 million within the 2021 state finances to proactively mitigate flooding, together with:

• $20 million for the Flood Resilience Blueprint to supply native communities with data on flood dangers and options.
• $15 million for Land and Water Fund and $3.5 million for Division of Mitigation Companies to develop pure infrastructure flood mitigation options.
• $25 million to Goldleaf Basis and $15 million to Division of Emergency Administration to supply capability and funding for local people’s flood options.

“Funding flood mitigation and group resilience earlier than the following storm occurs is a primary for North Carolina, and the start of a extra proactive local weather motion strategy in our state,” mentioned Will McDow, EDF’s Senior Director, Local weather Resilient Coasts and Watersheds. “Partaking in pre-disaster mitigation efforts relatively than ready till storms or flooding hit will higher defend our communities, infrastructure, and native economies from the human and monetary tolls of local weather change.” 

“Due to the management of NC Consultant John Bell and NC Senator Jim Perry, North Carolina has a plan and, importantly, the funding to execute on it,” added McDow. “Bell and Perry have been dedicated since day one, and have a imaginative and prescient for constructing on these first steps, acknowledging the fact that flood mitigation will should be a state precedence for the foreseeable future to successfully put together and defend North Carolina from future storms.”