North Carolina to get $336.5M in new federal relief for Hurricane Florence

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced Tuesday that North Carolina will receive $336.5 million through the Community Development Block Grant - Disaster Recovery (CDGB-DR) program.

As reported by ABC11, North Carolina officials and hurricane survivors have been waiting anxiously for this news. The CDGB-DR money is pretty much the last resort for victims whose homes sustained major damage and either need their homes elevated or want their homes bought out because of the increased risk of flooding.

"While today's grant award is a step toward providing much needed aid to Hurricane Florence survivors, far more is needed to help North Carolinians rebuild their lives and communities," Governor Roy Cooper said. "The recovery from these storms, fires and floods will continue to require federal help. It's time for Congress to work together to pass additional disaster relief legislation."

There is a major catch to this and that is the glacial pace at which the money gets to those families. As we have reported, CDGB-DR grants from Hurricane Matthew in 2016 are just beginning to be handed out (NC won $236 million for that storm).

This latest batch of CDGB-DR grants will be funneled to the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency, which will then be in charge in dispersing the funds.

The $336.5 million is part of the $1.2 billion in initial federal relief passed in October, but NC officials--including Gov. Cooper--are asking for billions more. The U.S. House just passed a sweeping federal severe weather aid bill, but it is being held up in the Senate as Democrats and Republicans spar over relief efforts in Puerto Rico.

Note: Video in this article is from a previous story.