Winds from Tropical Storm Helene ripped the roof off this home in Williston, S.C., at 5 a.m. Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, and caused the sunroom and screened-in porch to collapse. (Provided by Emily Wiles)
COLUMBIA — South Carolinians in three more counties are eligible for federal aid to rebuild after Tropical Storm Helene, bringing the total to 17.
Uninsured and underinsured homeowners and renters in Edgefield, Laurens and Union counties are newly eligible for money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to cover the cost of home repairs, temporary housing and replacement of essential household items, Gov. Henry McMaster said Thursday.
Four more counties — Richland, Abbeville, McCormick and Allendale — are still being assessed for eligibility.
The storm damaged at least 3,500 homes across 23 counties, 196 of those resulting in a total loss, said Kim Stenson, state Emergency Management Division director.
So far, FEMA has registered claims from more than 100,000 people, giving out $4.4 million in aid in the first couple of days since it has been available, said Brett Howard, federal coordinating officer for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Residents can get a maximum of $85,000 through the program — up to $42,500 for housing assistance and $42,500 for other needs.
“We’re going to have the opportunity to do some things and build back better, but it’s not ever going to be like it was,” Howard said, particularly in the hard-hit Upstate.
“We’re going to strive to get there as fast as we can and make it even better than it was,” Howard continued. “That’s our goal here, is to recover. But it is not going to happen tomorrow. It’s not going to happen next week. This is a marathon.”
The confirmed death toll from the storm also rose to 41, McMaster said.
Spartanburg County has seen eight deaths, followed by seven in Greenville County, six in Aiken County, five in Anderson County, three each in Laurens, Newberry and Saluda counties, two in Chester County and one each in York, Richland, Greenwood and Chesterfield counties.
Traffic accidents due to traffic signals being out are causing more accidents, said state Department of Public Safety Director Robert Woods, some of which have contributed to the storm-related fatalities.
Power companies continue working to restore power, getting the lights back on for nearly 1 million customers. But nearly 330,000 homes and businesses remained without electricity in South Carolina by Thursday evening, a week after Helene made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane.
Help continues to pour into the state from across the country, including National Guard battalions from Florida, Michigan, New York and Mississippi that are aiding in tree removal. Utility companies have reported crews of line workers coming from across the country — from Alabama and Florida to California, Idaho, Texas and Washington.
A tree down on a home in Greenville Sept. 29, 2024, following Tropical Storm Helene. (Provided by the city of Greenville)
State officials have distributed 500,000 meals and 769,000 liters of water, Stenson said.
State health officials did raise one concern about access to medical supplies, particularly as dockworkers at ports up and down the East and Gulf coasts continue to strike.
Some pharmacies, for example, have been without power. And medications may have been damaged by heat and need to be replaced. There was also a major manufacturer of IV fluids in North Carolina that was heavily damaged in the storm, said Dr. Edward Simmer, interim director of the state public health agency.
“With the ports closed due to the strike, we are working to get as many supplies in as we can,” Simmer said. “But certainly the sooner our ports reopen, the faster we’ll be able to get our medical care system in the state fully up and running.”
So far, President Joe Biden has opted not to intervene, though he has emergency powers under the Taft-Hartley Act to seek a court injunction to send longshoremen back to work for an 80-day cooling-off period.
“The Taft Hartley Act is the best answer,” McMaster said. “And that should be done right away. Our state, parts of Tennessee, North Carolina, Florida, Georgia — we’re in trouble. The longer it goes, the danger, damages go deeper and deeper.”
“We’re already dealing with a natural disaster, and we don’t need a man-made disaster at this point,” the governor added.