Pregnant mother displaced for second time after flooding in western North Carolina :: WRAL.com

Losing a home to a natural disaster is traumatic enough.

Twice, Josie Borg tells WRAL she feared she and her family wouldn’t be able to make it.

“Last time we were really surprised at what eight inches of water can do to your house, and this time it’s eight feet of water,” Borg said. “It’s just a completely different scenario.”

Borg is in her third trimester and is giving birth to her fourth child.

She and her family are now homeless after their home was flooded by Hurricane Helene.

The family lives on the Pigeon River in Clyde, about thirty minutes west of Asheville. The storm at the end of September forced the family to leave their home in the middle of the night.

“The sirens went off around 3 a.m., meaning the river broke the bank about two miles from us, then the evacuation sirens went off at 5 a.m.,” Borg recalled.

Borg and her husband, three children under 10 and four animals fled to a nearby shelter when the river reached 19 feet.

“It was just surreal. We had to put our children in kindergartens and go inside and we were stuck there because the streets were terrible,” the mother said.

Borg said it was a few days later when they learned how badly their property was damaged.

“It’s not fixable,” the mother screamed.

The experience for the family is the worst kind of déjà vu.

Tropical Storm Fred displaced the family in 2021. The home was flooded 30 cm at its highest points.

Borg said they had to tear out all the drywall and flooring and live in a trailer parked in their yard for two years.

“The most important thing when you’re in this situation – my situation – and you’re completely displaced is that you have to continue to pay for it and also find a place to live,” Borg said.

The mother shared that the family was still struggling with Fred’s financial burden when Helene struck.

“Last time it ruined us financially,” Borg shared.

The family is now asking the public for help in raising funds to save their home. The couple temporarily evacuated to Tennessee, but returned to Clyde a week after the storm to walk around their property.

Borg told WRAL that because of the mortgage, the family was required to purchase FEMA-approved flood insurance. Nevertheless, she shared that they did not receive a cent of help in 2021.

“They came to my house and just said, ‘No.’ Last time we didn’t get the $750, we got absolutely nothing,” Borg said.

The mother says the only help she received came from the Office of State Budget and Management.

“We paid about $1,200 to live in an apartment among campers and they reimbursed us,” Borg said. “That really saved us. This program alone allowed us to return to our home last time.”

Borg is worried about whether help will come this time and whether it will be enough.

WRAL asked Gov. Roy Cooper about statewide relief programs.

Cooper shared, “One of the things we want to ensure during this storm is to use all available private and non-profit resources at the local, state, federal and nonprofit levels to provide care for the people of the West.” North Carolina is recovering itself.”

He continued, “I have been in Canton since this storm and have spoken with them about trying to access these resources.”

Exactly how much this government funding will be and how quickly families like Borg’s could receive a payment is unclear.

WRAL also asked FEMA about its $750 Severe Needs Assistance payment. The agency said the purpose of the funding is to help people in immediate need of assistance after a disaster.

Deanne Criswell, FEMA’s top official, told WRAL that there are several factors that go into determining whether someone is eligible. She also shared that the agency just launched a new program this week to better reach people in affected areas.

“We started not actually getting the $750 or our relocation assistance to the people in the affected communities where we pushed this. We thought they could have gotten relocation assistance and stayed friends and family or whatever,” Criswell explained.

The FEMA administrator said the purpose of the calls is to guide affected survivors through available offerings and double-check that they are getting everything they are entitled to.

Borg told WRAL her husband received one of these calls asking about her housing needs.

She also shared that they had a home visit but had not received any help yet.

Criswell said assistance can arrive in a survivor’s bank account within 48 hours as long as they are eligible and fill out the required paperwork.

Borg shared that the mere application is another issue she and her neighbors struggle with.

“It’s a lot of work. All these people are in the middle of a disaster and trying to survive. “Half of these people don’t have electricity or internet, but you have to make all these phone calls and get on the internet and make these appeals,” she shared. “It’s almost impossible to navigate.”

Borg says she keeps trying to hope that relief will come. In the meantime, navigating “what’s next” remains an emotional — and financial — struggle.

“There’s definitely a different feel here because we’re just outside of that big booming population. That leaves us kind of behind,” Borg said. “People will stop talking about Helene and those people will be in trouble.”

Borg said an expert came to their home, but the family had not yet been informed of a decision.

The mother and her husband say they are also thinking about where they will deliver their new baby and what he will look like when he is brought home.