Challenge
The City of Wilson is a quiet community of 22,000 about 60 miles inland from the coast of North Carolina. In 1996, Hurricane Floyd destroyed 400 homes.
Solution
Three years later, the city partnered with the North Carolina Emergency Management (NCEM) and the FEMA to acquire many of the damaged structures with Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funds. FEMA provided $2,744,879 (including Public Assistance grants) while the state’s cost share was $962,573.
Acquisition projects are 75% funded by FEMA and administered by the state. The local communities are responsible to identify properties to acquire and participation is voluntary.
Homes acquired by federal funding must be removed, the property cleared and only used as permanent open space. Local officials may permit parks, playgrounds and gardens as there would be minimal damage should flooding occur again.
In addition, the North Carolina General Assembly provided “gap” funding to homeowners that helped cover the difference between their pre- disaster home value and the purchase price of a new house that was outside the floodplain.
HMGP funding made it possible to purchase a flood prone 7.6-acre property that had been a mobile home park. The site eventually became an Educational Forest, where 2,500 trees were planted as seedlings in 2003. Fruit and dogwood were included among the native North Carolina trees purchased from the state- run nursery and added in over the next two years. The site grew to 75 acres when it was absorbed by city-owned land.
The Educational Forest offers nature trails and is bordered by two small streams. An outdoor classroom setting includes electricity for evening events.
Kevin Medeiros, the Enforcement Coordinator for Neighborhood Improvement, received an award from the City Council in 2014 for creating the forest.
“The North Carolina Urban Forest Council dedicated the land to the Educational Forest in 2013, and it recently won a (2016) state award from the Park Appearance Commission,” said Medeiros.
Key Takeaways
Planning ahead to address natural risks is always a good idea for residents and communities.
- Hazard Mitigation has funds available before and after a disaster: