North Carolina residents struck by the remnants of Hurricane Helene are still rebuilding and facing infrastructure issues limiting the availability of fresh food, and one insurance expert warns they should be on their guard during this year's hurricane season. 

What's happening?

Carolina Public Press reported that the majority of Western North Carolina residents whose property was impacted by Helene will not be reimbursed by insurers, as less than 1% of them had flood protection included in their policies — even if they thought they had coverage.

"The wording in insurance policies is so vague," said Ginger Frank, CEO of Poppy Handcrafted Popcorn, an Asheville-based business that has suffered in the aftermath of Helene. "... The insurance company comes back and tells you what the loophole is in the policy … People pay so much for insurance, and then when something happens, they aren't there."

Helene also caused an estimated $9.5 billion in uninsured residential losses, according to UNC environmental law professor Donald Hornstein, who told CPP that many residents didn't have flood insurance because they didn't imagine they'd need it in the mountains. 

Why is this important?

Hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean began June 1, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts it could be an above-average year despite a slow start.

For North Carolinians who want flood insurance, the National Flood Insurance Program, or NFIP, is one of their only options, as private insurers are fleeing high-risk markets or charging sky-high premiums (which many cannot afford) in order to maintain profitability.

However, Hornstein told CPP that NFIP — an arm of FEMA — could only do so much to aid recovery efforts because it is "not designed for the planet on which we now live," with a warming climate causing hurricanes and other extreme weather events to become more intense.

"It's popular to talk about the NFIP as broken, because it regularly runs out of money and has to go to Congress to get special appropriations to bail out of their debt," Hornstein said. "If you look at it that way, the NFIP is not a functioning insurance company."

What can be done about this?

Dirty fuels account for the bulk of the heat-trapping gases heating up our atmosphere, but adopting greener, cost-effective technologies such as energy-efficient light bulbs and heat pumps is one way to help slash pollution on a personal level.

Meanwhile, Insurance Information Institute spokesperson Mark Friedlander encouraged people to prepare for hurricane season, telling CPP that proposed cuts to FEMA could impact the NFIP.

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While President Trump hasn't directly spoken about the NFIP and continued above-the-norm FEMA assistance to North Carolina earlier this year, the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 advocates for the NFIP to be scrapped in favor of private insurers. Last month, President Trump also indicated his plans to dismantle FEMA after this year's hurricane season, according to WFLA News Channel 8.

Before the election, President Trump distanced himself from Project 2025. Yet early into his second term, many of his policies aligned with Project 2025's vision. (Two years into his first term, he had implemented nearly two-thirds of the foundation's previous recommendations.)

"I would be wary of making the assumption that FEMA will be there to help me after a catastrophe during this hurricane season," Friedlander said. "There are too many unknowns."

Practical steps you can take to prepare for hurricanes include staying informed about how a storm could impact you, boarding up your windows prior to a storm, being ready to evacuate with your "go bag" and essential documents, and having emergency supplies on hand. FEMA has more information on how to protect yourself during and after such an event.

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