Helene

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein on Monday requested $13.5 billion more from Congress in recovery aid for Hurricane Helene almost a year after the historic storm, saying additional help is needed from Washington to address record amounts of damage and to get funds to the region quicker.

President Donald Trump has approved federal disaster aid for six states and tribes following storms and floods that occurred this spring and summer.

The fall foliage season brings in hundreds of millions of tourist dollars into the North Carolina mountain economy each year.

Hurricane Helene damaged drinking water, wastewater and septic systems across the mountains of North Carolina. The EPA is dedicating hundreds of millions of dollars in long-term, zero percent interest loans to the Tar Heel State to help rebuild.

Nearly 2,000 students attended Watauga County’s annual Back 2 School Festival this past weekend to receive free backpacks, shoes and supplies for the start of a new year.

A beloved tourist attraction in western North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains will be demolished starting later this month. The Lake Lure Flowering Bridge sustained severe damage from Hurricane Helene last year.

The National Park Service has also reopened about four miles of the Parkway in the Bamboo Gap area near Boone following damage from Helene.

National industry experts recently recognized NCDOT's efforts during the National Operations Center of Excellence's annual awards event.

Last year, the foundation distributed more than $200,000 toward tuition for children in Watauga’s licensed early childhood centers in the wake of Helene.

Officials from the Governor's Recovery Office for Western North Carolina and N.C. Emergency Management were speaking in front of a legislative hurricane recovery committee.