News

County gets $2M to buy and demolish three flood-prone properties

By Lightning Reports, Published: September 29, 2026

Henderson County will receive more than $2 million to buy and demolish three properties as part of more than $21 million in new disaster aid in North Carolina FEMA announced Tuesday.

The new round of aid will fund 29 projects to accelerate disaster recovery and build resilience in communities, the agency said. The FEMA announcement did not identify the location of the three properties. The county has had nearly 100 application in the works the program, with two rounds of funding approved. Under the program, after FEMA and the state approve the acquisition and demolition, the vacant land is deeded to the county to manage forever.

The money to buy properties is part of FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program intended to prevent, eliminate or reduce future disaster-related damage. Through the program, state, local or territory governments and tribal nations take proactive mitigation measures such as acquiring hazard-prone homes and businesses, adopting and enforcing building codes and standards, protecting against floods through elevations and drainage improvement projects, building safe rooms and upgrading utilities and infrastructure, FEMA said.

Other hazard mitigation projects include more than $2 million to Yancey County to buy and demolish seven flood-prone residential properties and for associated management costs, and more than $115,000 to Catawba County Acquisition Project for acquisitions, elevations, mitigation reconstruction and floodproofing.

The state will receive more than $16.6 million through FEMA’s Public Assistance program, which provides federal reimbursement to communities after a disaster for debris removal, emergency protective measures taken to reduce or eliminate disaster impacts, and to repair or rebuild damaged critical infrastructure. Public Assistance grants announced today include:

• $950,000 to Hendersonville Affordable Housing Corporation for management costs of Public Assistance grants to due Tropical Storm Helene. 
• $5.4 million to the North Carolina Department of Transportation for bridge, road, guardrails and riprap repairs due to Tropical Storm Helene. 
• $2.4 million to North Carolina Emergency Management for compaction of base materials around culverts, emergency protective measures and state management costs as a result of Tropical Storm Helene, Tropical Depression Chantal and Hurricane Isaias.
• $1.7 million to the city of Asheville for permanent repairs to Hardesty Lane Bridge from Tropical Storm Helene.
• $1.1 million to the town of Haw River to repair the sewer systems due to Tropical Depression Chantal.