SOUTHPORT — As the city recovers from Potential Tropical Cyclone #8, the Southport Board of Aldermen met Monday to discuss the storm’s toll on its stormwater system and federal assistance.
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Deputy Fire Marshal Brian Kolhoff reported the progress to gain financial assistance from the North Carolina Department of Public Safety and FEMA; he met with representatives from both agencies on Saturday to undergo initial inspections and discuss damage the city sustained during the storm.
The state has issued a state of emergency for Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus and New Hanover counties, allowing them to take advantage of disaster assistance. However, Kolhoff said the state is encouraging municipalities to try their chances at FEMA money first to reduce the burden on state government.
FEMA has two kinds of assistance available to Southport — individual and public. As of now, the federal agency has not made a declaration for either, though officials have requested both.
In anticipation of the declaration, Kolhoff said a $1.01-million request has been submitted on behalf of Southport for FEMA’s public assistance. It includes the following repairs and projects:
- Southport Fire Department building leak: $4,800
- Maintenance on 14 vehicles SFD with flood damage: $39,200
- Replacement of SFD Tower 361 truck: $502,000 (leftover from insurance payout)
- Parks and Recreation building damage: $37,000
- Replacement of three desktop computers: $9,600
- Stormwater system inspection and cleaning: $84,532
- Extra labor costs through November: $327,099
Originally, Southport’s submission was $2.8 million. It included a complete reworking of its water system at the behest of the state. However, FEMA said they would most likely deny that request.
“What they asked us to do was go ahead and submit for the ability to do a full inspection of our entire system, and whatever problems we found during that official inspection, that we could create projects for it going forward,” Kolhoff said.
Southport has also been affected by heavy damage to surrounding roads, including its only route out of the city, N.C. Highway 211. These repairs fall under the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s purview.
As of Monday, six Brunswick County roads remain closed or impassable due to damage, including Little Macedonia Road, E. Moore St., N.C. Highway 133, N.C. Highway 211, Plantation Road, and N. Howe St.
As for assistance for individuals, Kolhoff said state officials have requested a FEMA declaration for the entirety of Brunswick County. Brunswick County has met the threshold for assistance with at least 25 homes and five businesses reporting damage from the PTC #8.
According to Mayor RIch Alt, more than 80 homes took on water in Southport. If FEMA approves assistance, stations would be set up county-wide for home and business owners to submit their claims to FEMA’s various programs geared for individuals, such as emergency shelter assistance or money for repairs.
Kolhoff said he thinks FEMA’s declaration is taking longer because of the catastrophic losses sustained in western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene, though downgraded to a tropical storm, plowed through Appalachia two weeks ago. FEMA has approved $210 million for Hurricane Helene recovery across the South, $12 million of which has been distributed to Buncombe County, whose entire water system will have to be rebuilt.
In light of this, Alderman Karen Mosteller asked Kolhoff an unavoidable question.
“Do you expect that the demands on FEMA and the state for relief in western North Carolina will diminish significantly the opportunities for any relief here?”
Kolhoff said the FEMA representatives he’s worked with have ensured it can respond to needs from both coast and mountains.
“They made a point a few times to say, ‘Now, your guys’ needs are just as important — the scale might not be as large, but it’s just as important,’” Kolhoff said.
FEMA has issued several statements in the last few days addressing online misinformation about the agency’s response to Helene. It even launched a webpage on Oct. 4 to dispel rumors and announced a press conference with FEMA Director Deanne Criswell on Monday.
A popular false claim in circulation is that FEMA does not have enough money to respond to Hurricane Helene disaster recovery. The agency states it has enough money for immediate response and recovery needs and has encouraged people to apply to its various programs.
“As FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell has said, she has the full authority to spend against the President’s budget, but we’re not out of hurricane season yet so we need to keep a close eye on it,” the agency released in a statement Monday.
Another false statement addressed Monday is that the agency’s funding is being diverted to support international efforts or border-related issues.
“FEMA’s disaster response efforts and individual assistance is funded through the Disaster Relief Fund, which is a dedicated fund for disaster efforts,” the statement read. “Disaster Relief Fund money has not been diverted to other non-disaster related efforts. The funding for communities to support migrants is appropriated by Congress to Customs and Border Patrol – it has nothing to do with FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund.”
At Southport’s aldermen meeting, staff had to quell some rumors of its own.
“The stormwater system did not fail,” city engineer Tom Zilinek said. “There seems to be this misconception that that’s why we had all the flooding.”
Zilinick said the 20 inches of rain that fell in Southport over 12 hours “inundated” the city’s infrastructure, comparing it to the 27 inches gained in four days during 2018’s Hurricane Florence.
However, Aldermen Marc Spencer argued differently.
“Our system failed; I watched it,” Spencer said. “I watched the pipe on Bonnets Creek fill up, and I walked over to the other side and only 5% was coming out. And I say, why did that happen? Can I say that in public? Should I say that in public? What happened? That thing overflowed and there’s a sewer pipe running through the middle of it. So our pipe that was letting water come out upon its creek is half blocked by a sewer line.”
Zilinek suggested the two may have differing definitions of system failure. He then explained the city is undertaking a grant-funded mapping of its stormwater system to help guide further decisions on repairs and upgrades.
“In the preliminary review, the draft should be noted there are pipes in the city that have a level of service for a two-year storm and less two year storm,” Kilinek said. “That means, yes, your regular recurring storm can back up a lot of pipes in our system, and these pipes are in areas that are causing blockages — not blockages, but they’re restricting the flow and causing flooding in areas.”
He says the mapping data will help score points on future grants the city wants to use for stormwater improvements.
Reach journalist Brenna Flanagan at brenna@localdailymedia.com.
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