With hurricanes Irma and Harvey, Hurricane Matthew victims in NC still lack millions in federal disaster relief

State Emergency Management Director Mike Sprayberry explains those moving parts.

State lawmakers approved $301 million in disaster relief for everything from clean-up to infrastructure repairs to housing help. Add in federal money and donations, the state has taken in about 1 and a half billion dollars in disaster assistance.

"There's about $391 million in public assistance," Sprayberry said. "There's hazard mitigation. The estimate for that is about $114 million."

He said there's a lot of different costs and needs, which includes $102 million in SBA loans to small businesses.

"There's a lot of moving parts here," he said.

Gov. Roy Cooper complained in May that the state was receiving just a fraction of what it needed in aid.

"I am deeply disappointed that Washington isn't making North Carolina's urgent need a top priority," he said.

"We come to the conclusion that we have a tremendous unmet need," Sprayberry said.

One year after Matthew flooded homes along Highway 210 in Smithfield, Pam Christmas is stuck.

After spending six months in a hotel, the Christmas family now lives in this FEMA trailer on their property in Smithfield. It's just a few feet away from their flooded out home.

"It is very frustrating," Pam Christmas said. "I'm tired of crying, tired of asking and pleading."

The gutted brick home still sits untouched despite homeowner's insurance and flood insurance. Christmas was approved to elevate and rebuild, but she's tied up in government permitting red tape.

"We don't know who to blame, FEMA's says they've done their portion. The town of Smithfield says they're still waiting on FEMA," she said.

And the destruction is not just homes. The Department of Transportation requested $158 million in federal assistance to fund the gaping hold on Interstate 40 and the many other infrastructure repairs across the state. So far, $32 million has been granted.

Now that hurricanes Harvey and Irma are factored into the budget, Matthew victims are even less of a priority. The government is burning through hundreds of millions of dollars a day.

"And I'm stuck in the middle. As a homeowner and still paying a mortgage. As I said, I'm paying a mortgage on a shell every single month," Christmas said.

"Out of that 3,000 or so households that are applying for that, we can only take care of about 800 with that pot of money," Sprayberry said.

Hurricane Matthew relief matters for those who've been helped and those still waiting.

"I want to live in my house," Christmas said. "I want to put my house back together, and I want to be able to live in it."