Gov. Cooper tours areas in Charlotte hit hard by flooding

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper was in Charlotte Tuesday touring storm damage from June's severe flooding.

The Catawba River flooded in early June, damaging at least 40 homes in the area of Riverside Drive in northwest Charlotte.

Many of the people impacted didn't have flood insurance and hoped to get help from the state.

"To see people go through this type of devastation and people are like, 'You’re back to normal now right?' No, we’re not back to normal,” said resident Debbie Barefoot.

Barefoot said her home was elevated 7 feet years ago, high enough to save her life, but not her property.

"If you calculate everything, especially everything insurance doesn’t cover, it’s probably $300,000," Barefoot said.

Riverside Drive residents wanted Cooper to know that they're still devastated and he promised he would not let them be forgotten.

“I’m going to go back to our emergency management and tell them what I’ve learned today, and for them to look and see and explore all possible avenues that can help people,” said Cooper.

FULL COVERAGE:

• Residents forced to evacuate from Hickory apartment complex due to flooding
• Catawba, Caldwell counties declare State of Emergency after days of heavy rain
• Good Samaritans wade into floodwaters to save trapped fawn
• Names of victims released in Lincolnton car crash into creek
• Burke County nursing home staff moved after water enters building

Last week, Cooper signed a state disaster declaration for 10 counties to make additional assistance available for those impacted by the flooding.

The declaration affects Catawba, Mecklenburg and surrounding counties, including Alexander, Burke, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln and Union.

At Cooper's request, the U.S. Small Business Administration granted a disaster declaration for the impacted counties, allowing affected residents to apply for low-interest SBA disaster loans.

With the SBA's approval and the governor's signing, state-funded grants became possible for individuals who do not meet the qualifications for an SBA loan.

"I hope this does some good. I hope you make a liar out of me and show me what you can do for us down here,” Barefoot said.

Residents are questioning Duke Energy's role in releasing so much water down the Catawba River, saying the impacts shouldn't have been so severe.

"This could have been completely avoided,” said resident Brandon Brilhart.

Channel 9 asked Cooper about Duke's response. He wouldn't say if the company's actions were to blame.

"We will look into this situation to see what happened," Cooper said. "I do not know the facts so I want to reserve judgment on that."

A Duke spokesperson told Channel 9 that operationally the utility did everything it could and had to do,  according to federal regulations, to manage the water.

Cox Media Group