The North Carolina Division of Emergency Management on June 15 announced that 64 homeowners soon will receive $8.5 million to acquire, elevate or reconstruct homes damaged by Hurricane Matthew.

This is the fourth award of Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funds and will help dozens more homeowners move into more resilient homes. This round of funding will be used to reconstruct five homes, elevate 17 homes and acquire 42 properties so the homeowners can find alternative housing outside of the floodplain.

The latest HMGP awards include these nearby communities:

Pasquotank County – (no amount specified) to elevate 1 home and acquire 5 properties; Dare County – $110,744 to elevate 1 home; City of Edenton – $220,902 to acquire 1 property; and City of Washington – $106,977 to acquire 1 property.

The June 15 announcement follows awards of $13.4 million to assist 87 homeowners in Camden, Columbus, Edgecombe, Halifax, Nash and Robeson counties and the cities of Fayetteville and Tarboro announced earlier this spring.

Hazard Mitigation Grant Program awards for Hurricane Matthew in North Carolina now totals 150 properties and $21.6 million.

Tyrrell County initially submitted 10 houses for Emergency Management to consider for HMGP funding, Mike Barnette with McDavid Associates, Tyrrell’s housing specialists, said June 15.

“DEM and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have indicated FEMA will fund two of the 10 houses,” Barnette stated.

Tyrrell County should expect to receive an “award” by July 31, according to DEM Director Mike Sprayberry, Barnette said. “When the county receives a definite “award” they will know for sure what properties the program will be able to assist.”

The program uses funds to elevate, reconstruct or buy-out qualified homeowners whose home is at risk of repeated damage from flooding.  Following major disasters, a percentage of total federal recovery funds is designated to develop more resilient communities using one of the approved methods.

State emergency management officials anticipate approximately $115 million total in HMGP grants will be awarded to help Matthew survivors get into more flood-resistant homes. They hope to have all of the mitigation grants awarded by early August.