Congressional leaders said they reached a last-minute deal to fund the government, avoid a government shutdown and provide another $100 billion for disaster relief.
However, it’s not yet clear how much of that funding could be coming to North Carolina to help with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
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The latest estimates for the cost for storm in North Carolina - released Friday by the state budget office - now put the total cost at nearly $60 billion. That’s a more than 10% increase since October.
In an email, a state budget office spokesperson said that increase comes, in part, simply because the state now has better data .
The spokesperson writing after Helene, “Communications were disrupted, it was challenging to obtain information required for a comprehensive assessment”
The latest figures show increases almost across the board - in particular for housing - where Helene caused nearly $13.5 billion in damage to tens of thousands of structures.
The report also showing just how many North Carolinians are stuck waiting for federal aid to be approved.
That includes more than 2,500 businesses who’ve applied for Federal Small Business Administration loans, but who’ve been left in limbo, since that program ran out of funding in mid-October - waiting for Congress to finally act.