Chimney Rock has always been a tucked-away mountain town, wedged between the Broad River and steep peaks overlooking Lake Lure. But nearly a year after Hurricane Helene, reaching it is harder than ever, according to Smoky Mountain News. With most roads still closed, Highway 9 is crowded with dump trucks hauling debris — a daily reminder that recovery has barely begun.
Hurricane Helene caused an estimated $60 billion in damage, making it one of the costliest disasters in North Carolina’s history. Yet federal recovery funds have trickled in at a glacial pace, leaving local governments and residents frustrated.
President Donald Trump, just days after taking office in January, tapped Michael Whatley as “recovery czar” for Western North Carolina. Whatley, a lawyer and longtime Republican leader, previously chaired both the state and national GOP before launching his campaign this summer for retiring Sen. Thom Tillis’ seat. Trump endorsed him before his candidacy was even official, praising him as “fantastic at everything he does.”
At the same time, Trump, by executive order, created a FEMA Review Council, led by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, tasked with producing recommendations for FEMA reform. Whatley was appointed co-chair of its Final Report Subcommittee.
But for storm-ravaged communities, little has changed. Aid has been slow, and Whatley has been largely absent from the disaster zone, with Smoky Mountain News reporting that Whatley has “rarely, if ever” visited the area. Records show the FEMA council has met only twice in seven months, totaling about three hours.
The delays have been devastating. An investigation by The Smoky Mountain News in March found that only 4% of local government recovery needs had been met. By July, the Asheville Citizen-Times reported the figure had risen to just 6%. By August, WRAL revealed that DHS was still holding up hundreds of millions in aid while falling behind on disaster preparedness grants.
Though DHS touts more than $320 million in FEMA reimbursements since Trump’s inauguration — and more than $650 million since the Biden administration — that’s a drop in the bucket compared to $60 billion in documented damage.
Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, Roy Cooper, Whatley’s likely opponent for Senate, blasted the lack of progress during a visit to Chimney Rock in August.
“With FEMA, it’s never worked as well as we wanted it to work,” Cooper said. “North Carolina has had a lot of storms, but now it’s worse than ever. It’s completely broken, and it’s time to put politics aside and start writing the checks so the people of Western North Carolina can recover.”
“Absolutely not,” Cooper said when asked if recovery was going well. “And in fact, [Whatley’s] part of the problem, because Washington, D.C. insiders have made it so much more difficult for people in Western North Carolina to recover, and in fact, people in Western North Carolina have been left holding the bag,” Cooper told The Smoky Mountain News. “We should not be playing political games with disaster recovery.”
Residents share that frustration. Dump trucks rattle through Chimney Rock’s narrow streets, where the smell of sawdust hangs in the air as businesses rebuild. For many, billions in promised aid remain out of reach — and Whatley’s role has done little to change that.
Cooper summed it up bluntly: “People in Washington need to step up. People at FEMA need to step up to help Western North Carolina.”
Michael Whatley did not respond to Smoky Mountain News’ request for comment.
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