RALEIGH, N.C. — Over the past decade, North Carolina residents have been hit with devastating hurricanes, and some are still dealing with the aftermath. It’s been six years since Hurricane Matthew made landfall, and four years since Hurricane Florence caused catastrophic flooding and damage across the state.

You may be shocked to learn thousands of homeowners are still waiting to go home. Many of them of stuck in motels have no access to any of their belongings, and some of them tragically died waiting for answers.

The WRAL documentary team investigates what happened to these hurricane victims in our latest documentary Aftermath: North Carolina Hurricane Victims Left Behind. The new documentary premieres on WRALTV on Tuesday, December 13, at 7:30 p.m.

All of these North Carolinians signed up for a state program called ReBuild NC, meant to help lowincome homeowners recover from the effects of the storm.

ReBuild NC oversees $800 million of your taxpayer dollars that are meant to get these residents back into a safe place to live, but missteps and delays have plagued the state agency for years. Investigative reporter Cristin Severance and photojournalist Jay Jennings interviewed the homeowners stuck in limbo, the officials in charge of ReBuild NC, Governor Roy Cooper and the lawmakers tasked with investigating what went wrong.

“The story is that Rebuild, North Carolina has bungled this program and left thousands of people homeless who are hurricane survivors,” said Lisa Sorg with NC Policy Watch. “These residents have already had sustained incredible trauma and no one is helping them.”

“You can’t help but feel these people have been forgotten,” said Severance. “They are living in oneroom motel rooms, some of them for years, with no kitchen or way to make meals. Many have serious health problems that are only getting worse. They want answers, action and they just want to go home."

"Aftermath: North Carolina Hurricane Victims Left Behind" shines a light on what’s happened to these homeowners and pushes leaders for answers.

Cristin Severance is the Documentary Investigative Reporter and Producer. Jay Jennings is the Lead Videographer and Editor. Justin Arner provided additional videography, editing and graphics.

Subscribe to WRAL Docs:
   / @wraldocs  

Follow WRAL:
Facebook:   / wraltv  
Twitter:   / wral  
IG:   / wral  

About WRALTV:

WRAL is your Raleigh, North Carolina news source. Check out our videos for the latest news in Raleigh, local sports, Raleigh weather, and more at https://WRAL.com

0:00 Aftermath Documentary – Hurricane Survivors
4:04 Willie and Geraldine Williams Hurricane Survivors
7:06 NC State Rep. John Bell
7:16 NC State Sen. Danny Britt
7:55 Lisa Sorg – NC Investigative Reporter
8:58 Franklin & Roverta Jones – Hurricane Survivor
10:51 Rena Powell – Hurricane Survivor
11:25 Viola Figeroa – Hurricane Survivor
13:54 Governor Roy Cooper
16:00 Committee Investigating ReBuild NC
16:38 J.R. Sanderson – Leader in Rebuilding Efforts in SC
18:06 Laura Hogshead – Head of Rebuild NC