In recent years, Eastern North Carolina has felt the devastating impacts of floods. Hurricane Matthew, followed by Hurricane Florence and more recently Tropical Storm Fled, highlighted the need for local governments to work together to prepare for stronger and more frequent storms.
Formed after Hurricane Florence in 2018, the Eastern North Carolina Recovery and Resiliency Alliance is a bipartisan group of over 50 Mayors and County Commissioners with the aim of creating a more resilient and better-prepared eastern North Carolina in the face of disasters. As floods know no boundaries, the Alliance bridges the urban-rural divide in a nonpartisan way, with members ranging from coastal cities to rural counties.
The Alliance focuses on a number of resilience priorities from investing in critical transportation infrastructure to improving and accelerating recovery processes. Priorities also include increasing state funding for stream, tributary and river management and dedicating funds to build affordable housing. Alliance leaders have led multiple delegations to Raleigh and Washington, D.C., to advocate for these priorities to state and national leaders.
