Four North Carolina homes damaged by Helene were repaired with owners’ money and volunteer help; two years later, FEMA buyouts mean the livable houses will be demolished and returned to green space

Two years after Hurricane Helene devastated western North Carolina, four homes that owners worked to repair after the storm are now set to be demolished. The homes, in Hendersonville’s Cottages at Cypress Run neighbourhood, were among properties damaged by the September 2024 storm and were rebuilt with homeowners’ own money and help from volunteers. According to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety (NCDPS), 535 of 892 homes in areas prone to repeated flooding have so far been approved for voluntary acquisition through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. Properties bought through the programme are removed, with the land returned to natural areas to reduce future flood risk.Homes repaired after Helene now face demolitionHurricane Helene brought catastrophic flooding to western North Carolina on September 27, 2024. NCDPS says the storm caused nearly $60 billion in damage across the state, damaged or destroyed more than 73,000 homes and resulted in 107 deaths. Two years later, the state says recovery remains ongoing.In Hendersonville, the consequences of that recovery process are now particularly visible at The Cottages at Cypress Run. Nearly half of the homes in the neighbourhood flooded during Helene. According to WLOS, four homes on Leyland Circle have since been repaired but are now scheduled to be demolished after their owners accepted voluntary FEMA buyouts.Charlene Olsen, one of the homeowners, told WLOS that about three feet of water filled her home during the storm. She said she and her dog returned to find the property covered in mud. Olsen later rebuilt the house using her own money and volunteer assistance, as did other neighbours. Despite the work that went into restoring the property, Olsen accepted a buyout. She told WLOS that she did not feel comfortable returning to the home after what happened during Helene. “I’m happy for the people that feel safe living there, but I don’t,” Olsen said.How the FEMA buyout programme worksThe buyouts are part of a broader hazard-mitigation effort designed to reduce the risk of future disasters. NCDPS says the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program provides funding for measures that can reduce future losses following a disaster, including the voluntary acquisition of properties in areas vulnerable to flooding.Under the programme, homeowners voluntarily apply to have their property acquired. Once FEMA approves an eligible project, the state or local government can complete the purchase. NCDPS says properties acquired through the programme are generally purchased at their approximate value on the day before the disaster.After the purchase is completed, the home is demolished and the property is cleared. According to NCDPS, acquired land must remain as public open green space, prohibiting new structures. The agency explains that maintaining the land as open space can provide additional floodplain and help keep floodwater away from neighbouring properties. For the Hendersonville homeowners, this means a repaired house can still be removed if the property is acquired through the voluntary buyout process.Why repaired houses are still being removedThe timing has raised questions among residents because the houses are now described as livable after the rebuilding work. WLOS reported that some neighbours questioned why homes that had already been repaired could not instead be used for people who lost their houses in the storm. Resident Shawna Cordier told WLOS that demolition might have made more sense earlier, when the neighbourhood was still recovering, rather than removing a house that is now “perfectly livable.”The HOA president, Mike Modzelewski, also told WLOS that residents were concerned about the disruption that could accompany demolition and wondered whether the neighbourhood could again face debris and other problems similar to those experienced after Helene. FEMA, meanwhile, has explained the purpose of the buyout in terms of long-term flood-risk reduction. In a statement to WLOS, the agency said that once a homeowner accepts a buyout, the home will be demolished and the property deed-restricted. FEMA said the land will be returned to green space, which maintains natural floodplain functions and reduces or eliminates future disaster losses to properties.A wider shift from rebuilding to mitigationThe Hendersonville properties are part of a much larger post-Helene mitigation effort. NCDPS says 535 of 892 homes in areas prone to repeated flooding had been approved for voluntary acquisition as of September 25, 2026. The state says those homes will be removed and the land returned to natural areas. North Carolina has also submitted about $2 billion in applications to FEMA through its hazard-mitigation efforts. More than $200 million had been allocated for projects across western North Carolina before the application period closed, with another $1.8 billion expected, according to NCDPS.The state’s approach reflects a distinction between rebuilding a home after a disaster and reducing the likelihood of repeated losses at the same location. A homeowner may repair a structure and make it livable again, while officials may still determine that acquiring the underlying property is appropriate because of its flood risk.For the four Hendersonville homeowners, that process has created an unusual outcome: houses that survived Helene, were repaired and could be lived in again are now headed for demolition. Once the buyouts are completed and the structures removed, the properties will be maintained as open green space rather than rebuilt as homes.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.