An “avalanche” of evictions is going to hit North Carolina in the long aftermath of Hurricane Helene

At least 62 people were killed when Hurricane Helene devastated the southeast at the end of September, but the storm’s aftereffects are still being felt in states like North Carolina. As the state struggles with a housing and economic crisis, many individuals are in danger of being evicted.

The executive director of Just Economics, an organization calling on state officials to impose a moratorium on foreclosures and evictions, Vicki Meath told The Washington Post, “We had an avalanche of need with this hurricane, and there’s a second avalanche coming with these evictions.”

Although housing issues would arise from a disaster anywhere, western North Carolina was particularly vulnerable because of its high home costs and reliance on tourists.

As of mid-October, Buncombe County, which includes the heavily impacted tourist destination of Asheville, had at least 225 new eviction cases filed, according to the North Carolina Tenants Union. Up to 40 new cases are occasionally filed per day.

Although separate $1 million pots of money for rental and mortgage help have been promised by state lawmakers and city officials, local officials are worried that this sum would not be enough to keep residents in their houses.

Private organizations have filled this void, with Grant Covenant Presbyterian Church in Asheville offering more than $1 million in rental aid to locals.

The terrible circumstances that remain after the storm worsen the housing issue.

The water supply in Asheville was under a boil notice until November 18. This, together with a protracted power loss, made it difficult for many tenants to thoroughly clean their wet apartments, many of which developed mold after the storm.

Last month, a daycare provider who leases near UNC Asheville told Carolina Public Press, “I told (my landlord) that the house is unlivable because we have no running water, no electricity, and no one will be living since we had lost these basic necessities.”

Renters, many of whom are unable to work, are forced to continue paying for dangerous homes because tenants in North Carolina lack the authority to withhold rent, even if they reside in unsafe units or lack basic requirements.

The maximum weekly benefit for jobless people in North Carolina is $600; however, in areas like Buncombe County, where a 2021 survey revealed that almost half of renters are cost burdened and spend at least one-third of their salary on housing, such amounts might not be enough.

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