Nearly a decade after Hurricanes Matthew and Florence struck eastern North Carolina, more than 1,000 homes remain under construction, leaving many residents still in temporary housing such as hotels, motels, or trailers. As state officials now navigate recovery from Helene, Matthew and Florence failures cast a dark cloud over the process.

The North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency (NCORR), the agency responsible for overseeing disaster recovery efforts, has faced widespread criticism for delays and mismanagement. In this followup to Carolina Journal’s examination of NCORR’s challenges and setbacks, we outline how states like South Carolina, Mississippi, and Florida have handled similar recovery efforts.

South Carolina’s More Effective Response

During hearings of the Hurricane Response and Recovery Subcommittee at the North Carolina General Assembly in 2022 and 2023, Col. J.R. Sanderson, senior government advisor for SBP (formerly the St. Bernard Project), testified about South Carolina’s recovery work. Sanderson led the project in South Carolina from 2015 to 2019, helping the state recover from Hurricanes Joaquin, Matthew, and Florence.

At that time, the South Carolina Office of Resilience reported that its Disaster Recovery Division had rebuilt or repaired more than 3,000 homes since 2015. In contrast, North Carolina had completed only 789 out of 4,100 projects—just 25%—since 2016.

By March 2023, NCORR had begun working with SBP as well, but Sanderson told a legislative committee that what he saw in the state agency’s project management was troubling.

“This is a $70 billion industry in America today,” Sanderson testified in 2023. “Seven out of every ten grantees are failing.”

He told lawmakers that he’d grade NCORR’s action plan with an ‘F’ for lacking clear outcomes and failing to align goals with proper execution methods, emphasizing that successful recovery programs require a focused action plan guided by a needs assessment.

Lessons from the experts

Jon Mabry, vice president for disaster recovery at Innovative Emergency Management (IEM), agrees with Sanderson’s emphasis on a focused action plan.

IEM, based in Morrisville, North Carolina, initially served as NCORR’s project manager in 2018 before HORNE, a professional services firm, took over in 2019. NCORR subsequently began managing projects in-house in December 2022.

Mabry has a 30-year career as a certified internal auditor, managing recovery efforts for disasters such as Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi, Superstorm Sandy in New York, and Hurricane Irma in Florida.

Mississippi’s Efficient Use of Federal Funds

After Hurricane Katrina struck Mississippi in 2005, then-Governor Haley Barbour called upon Mabry—who had no prior experience in disaster recovery—to manage $5 billion in HUD Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds.

At the time, 80% of the state was without power, 40 million cubic yards of debris needed clearing, and 220,000 housing units were damaged, with 60,000 destroyed. Nearly $4 billion of CDBG funds were distributed within six years, supporting:

  • Construction, rehabilitation, or financing of over 40,000 homes
  • Completion of more than 300 public infrastructure projects
  • Job creation or retention for approximately 8,000 people, with an error rate of less than 0.1%

Louisiana’s Fast-Track Recovery Model

Mabry also managed $1.3 billion in federal funds for Louisiana’s Restore Louisiana Homeowner Assistance Program following the Great Floods of 2016.

“We fast-tracked recovery,” Mabry told Carolina Journal in a recent interview. “Within 60 days, we had houses under construction. That’s what the governor wanted, and we restored nearly 13,000 homes.”

Florida’s High-Completion Rate

IEM also managed a $252 million HUD grant for Florida’s post-Irma rebuilding efforts. Under IEM’s contract, 96% of homes were completed on schedule and within budget.

What’s more, IEM reported that 94% of the homes they constructed remained mostly damage free following the landfall of another storm, Hurricane Ian, attributing the resiliency to hardened construction techniques and materials required of contractors.

Key Strategies for Success in Disaster Recovery

Mabry explained to Carolina Journal that his production model, which he calls the “One Neck to Choke” model, assigns a single responsible entity from start to finish.

“You set targets for applications processed, damage assessments, environmental reviews, and home completions,” Mabry said. “Then you monitor those targets, reassess, and align costs to avoid budget overruns while delivering outcomes.”

He referenced NCORR’s $319 million debt as an example of poor financial oversight.

“There’s no reason you should ever not know where you’re at with your forecasting budget,” Mabry said.

Steps to Improve Disaster Recovery Efforts

To achieve faster and more efficient disaster recovery, Mabry recommends:

  • Workflow Optimization: Establishing a seamless process from intake to completed construction.
  • Regional Contractor Assignments: Assigning general contractors (GCs) based on geographic familiarity and local building codes.
  • Training and Repeatable Processes: Ensuring personnel are properly trained and that effective processes are consistently applied.
  • Strong Leadership and Accountability: Creating urgency from the top to expedite recovery efforts and meet federal funding deadlines.
  • Real-Time Reporting: Implementing real-time tracking to identify and address bottlenecks.
  • Transparency in Reporting: Holding contractors accountable and ensuring funds are used effectively.

Challenges in Western North Carolina

Mabry noted that due to western North Carolina’s mountainous terrain, outreach efforts must be adapted to ensure vulnerable populations are not left out.

He supports GROW NC’s independence from NCORR and stated that while no one has requested IEM’s assistance, they are willing to help.

“I hope that whoever they procure is like IEM,” Mabry told Carolina Journal. “We’re headquartered in North Carolina and have more experience than most contractors in this space.”

What’s Next for NCORR and GROW NC?

On Monday, Gov. Josh Stein requested $1.07 billion in immediate funding from the General Assembly to support urgent rebuilding needs in that part of the state. Meantime, the North Carolina General Assembly has begun committee discussions on the future of both NCORR and GROW NC with the goal of making the state’s recovery investments better managed and more impactful.

State Auditor Dave Boliek is also closely monitoring the situation.

“In addition to the required audit of NCORR in Eastern North Carolina, our office will provide a clear-eyed evaluation of Hurricane Helene recovery efforts,” Boliek stated in an email to Carolina Journal. “We want people to track housing and infrastructure repair progress in real time. Accountability can improve government functions, and we are determined to shine a light on hurricane recovery efforts.”

The coming months will determine whether North Carolina can finally address its ongoing hurricane recovery challenges—or if history will repeat itself.