Helene survivor Jon Council warns of a growing national crisis in disaster preparedness
Podcasts Archives • NC Newsline · NC Newsline
Audio is streamed directly from the publisher (media.blubrry.com) as published in their RSS feed. Play Podcasts does not host this file. Rights-holders can request removal through the copyright & takedown page.
Show Notes
Community organizer Jon Council (Courtesy photo)
It’s now been nearly 15 months since the worst storm in modern times to hit western North Carolina – Hurricane-turned-Tropical Storm Helene – inundated numerous mountain communities, killed more than 100 people and inflicted tens of billions of dollars in property damage.
Unfortunately, as NC Newsline has reported on numerous occasions, especially when it comes to the federal government, the response has been decidedly and often maddeningly inadequate. Despite repeated pleas from Gov. Josh Stein, funding from Washington has been slow and spotty and, thanks to Trump administration bloodletting, federal agencies that should be helping to spearhead the recovery have been inadequately staffed and often missing in action. As a result, western North Carolina residents remain deeply frustrated and worried about the future and recently we caught up with a storm survivor and local recovery leader who’s traveling to the nation’s capital along with a group of other disaster survivors from around the country this week to call for a better federal response – Watauga County carpenter and organizer Jon Council.
Click here for the full interview with Down Home North Carolina community organizer Jon Council.