North Carolina
Tropical Storm Debby to bring widespread, ‘potentially severe’ flooding to North Carolina
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper delivers a new conference about Tropical Storm Debby alongside state officials at the National Guard’s Joint Force Headquarters in Raleigh on Aug. 7, 2024. (Photo by Galen Bacharier/NC Newsline)
Gov. Roy Cooper and North Carolina officials said Wednesday the state was prepared for widespread and potentially severe flash flooding in the coming days as Tropical Storm Debby sweeps across the east coast.
“All North Carolinians across our state need to be prepared for a deluge,” Cooper said in a news conference broadcast to the public. “More rain than most of us see in a month, or even several months.”
Southeastern portions of the state could see as much of 15 inches of rain as the storm moves through, and up to 10 inches in central parts of the state. The storm is set to bring multiple days of heavy precipitation due to its “slow, gradual approach.”
Cooper urged residents to listen to local guidance, avoid flooded roads and follow evacuation orders in parts of the state where they are needed.
The state has deployed 17 swift water rescue teams, primarily to eastern parts of the state. Food and supplies are set to be distributed to nine counties in the southeast corner.
Cooper said as of Wednesday, he didn’t expect rivers to reach the levels seen during Hurricanes Florence and Matthew. But he said that, tentatively, state officials expect rivers to crest starting Friday, and possibly through Sunday.
“We hope that this event will not approach the catastrophic nature of both of those hurricanes,” Cooper said. “But it just shows us, we have to pay attention to resiliency, to building code standards.”
Cooper declared a state of emergency on Monday, allowing for state agencies to swiftly respond to outages and deliver supplies when needed.
And on Wednesday morning, President Joe Biden authorized FEMA to provide disaster assistance for affected counties. FEMA has personnel on the ground in the state as of today, state officials said.
Fatalities from the storm have already been reported in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, said Cooper, who said “our prayers are with our southern neighbors.”
North Carolinians seeking more information about the storm and what they should do to prepare should visit ReadyNC.gov. And you can follow forecasts for flooding and water levels at FIMAN.nc.gov.
DALLAS — Lexi Donarski had 15 points, Alyssa Ustby scored 12 and matched her career-high with 18 rebounds and No. 14 North Carolina rolled to a 64-33 victory over SMU on Thursday night.
Donarski did her damage from 3-point range, sinking 5 of 6 attempts for the Tar Heels (16-3, 3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference). Ustby collected her seventh double-double of the season with five of them coming in the last six games.
Indya Nivar had 11 points and Maria Gakdeng totaled 10 points and seven rebounds for North Carolina, which has won three in a row and 6 of 7.
Kaysia Woods scored 12 to lead the Mustangs (10-8, 2-4).
Nivar had nine points in the first half as North Carolina turned a 13-6 first-quarter lead into a 31-14 advantage at halftime. The Tar Heels shot just 39.4% from the floor before the break, but that looked red-hot compared to SMU, which shot 13.8% overall (4 for 29).
Donarski hit her only two shots of the third quarter — both from beyond the arc — and the Tar Heels led 44-22 heading to the fourth.
Woods had five points in the final period to help SMU top the 10-point mark in a quarter for the first time in the game.
North Carolina guard Alyssa Ustby dribbles during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against SMU, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, in Dallas. Credit: AP/LM Otero
SMU allowed the biggest comeback in NCAA women’s basketball history its last time out when the Mustangs saw a 32-point lead with 1:37 left in the first half turn into a 72-59 loss to Pittsburgh. SMU was outscored 28-0 in the third quarter and 26-10 in the fourth.
North Carolina travels to play Pittsburgh on Sunday. SMU travels to play No. 3 Notre Dame on Sunday.
North Carolina
Fact Check: California, North Carolina get same recovery cost coverage from federal gov’t
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – As wildfires ravage parts of Los Angeles and Southern California this month, federal, state, and local authorities have mobilized resources to combat the flames and assist affected communities.
Their response echoes the efforts made in North Carolina just months ago, when Hurricane Helene left widespread devastation in its wake.
A viewer named Dina asked the following question: “Why is the federal government covering 100% of the recovery costs for the California wildfires, but not doing the same for Hurricane Helene recovery efforts in North Carolina?”
Her question relates to a claim being spread around social media that the government is allegedly paying for 100% of the damage in California, but not in North Carolina.
WBTV’s Fact Check team investigated the claims and found them to be false.
Here’s what we found.
Federal funding for wildfire recovery
On Tuesday, Jan. 14, President Joe Biden announced that the federal government would cover 100% of certain wildfire recovery costs in California for the next 180 days.
“The federal government is going to cover 100% of the cost for the next 180 days for things like firefighter overtime pay, debris removal, temporary shelters … It’s going to cost tens of billions of dollars to get Los Angeles back to where it was,” Biden said during a press conference.
Typically, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, aka FEMA, covers 75% of disaster recovery costs, with the remaining 25% funded by state and local governments. However, under federal law, the U.S. president has the authority to increase the federal cost-share for recovery efforts.
What about North Carolina?
Turns out, less than a week after Hurricane Helene hit North Carolina in September 2024, President Biden and FEMA announced that the same adjustment was made for Helene recovery in North Carolina.
Put another way: North Carolina has also had 100% of public recovery funds covered by the federal government since Oct. 2, 2024.
A release from the North Carolina governor’s office and FEMA explained how the president raised the federal contribution from 75% to 100% for the first 180 days of recovery. (The same time period that was just established in California).
After the six-month period, the cost-share for public assistance projects was increased from 75% to 90%. Click here to read the official FEMA release about this.
—> North Carolina Red Cross volunteers deploy to support wildfire victims in California
The verdict
President Biden’s decision to increase the federal cost-share for California wildfires is consistent with the aid provided to North Carolina following Hurricane Helene.
Claims that the federal government is covering a higher percentage of recovery costs in California compared to in North Carolina are false. Both states received identical cost-share adjustments.
If you have further questions or claims you’d like us to investigate, feel free to reach out to us at factcheck@wbtv.com.
—> State releases names of 104 Helene victims in North Carolina for 1st time: See list here
Copyright 2025 WBTV. All rights reserved.
North Carolina
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