Federal Emergency Management Agency Designates Counties in North Carolina as Natural Disaster Areas due to Hurricane Helene with Assistance Available for Grayson County in Virginia

This Presidential disaster declaration allows the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) to extend much-needed emergency credit to producers recovering from natural disasters through emergency loans. Emergency loans can be used to meet various recovery needs including the replacement of essential items such as equipment or livestock, reorganization of a farming operation, or to refinance certain debts. FSA will review the loans based on the extent of losses, security available, and repayment ability.

1. Triggering Presidential Designation M4827:

Impacted Area: North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia

Triggering Disaster: Hurricane Helene that occurred on Sept. 25, 2024, and continuing

Application Deadline: May 28, 2025

Primary Counties Eligible:

• North Carolina: Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Clay, Cleveland, Eastern Cherokee, Gaston, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Lincoln, McDowell, Macon, Madison, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes, and Yancey.

Contiguous Counties Also Eligible:

• Virginia: Grayson
• Tennessee: Carter, Cocke, Greene, Johnson, Sevier, and Unicoi
• North Carolina: Cherokee, Graham, Iredell, Mecklenburg, Surry, Swain, and Yadkin
• Georgia: Rabun, Towns, and Union
• South Carolina: Cherokee, Greenville, Oconee, Pickens, Spartanburg, and York

More Resources

On farmers.gov, the Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool, Disaster Assistance-at-a-Glance fact sheet, and Loan Assistance Tool can help you determine program or loan options. To file a Notice of Loss or to ask questions about available programs, contact your local USDA Service Center.

FEMA offers different assistance programs for individual citizens, public groups including government agencies and private nonprofit organizations. To find the FEMA help you need following a disaster event, visit fema.gov/assistance.