Good afternoon, everyone.

We're here to get prepared.

This week marks the start of hurricane season, which begins the first week of June and lasts through the end of November.

The peak of hurricane season is typically in the fall from August to October, but tropical weather systems can impact our state starting now.

Given our location, North Carolina gets more than our fair share of hurricanes, so it is especially important that we all get prepared.

Eastern North Carolina has been pummeled by too many hurricanes over the years.

Some families are still recovering from the ravages of recent hurricanes.

And as we learned last September 27th, Western North Carolina is not immune.

Even as we continue the recovery process across Western North Carolina from Helene's devastation, we must acknowledge that another hurricane season is already upon us.

I also recognize that we're heading into this hurricane season with more uncertainty than usual as we wait to learn the futures of FEMA and NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Cuts to NOAA and FEMA are a man-made disaster.

We need these critical agencies to help us anticipate and respond to natural disasters.

A lack of forecasting and a lack of funding both harm public safety.

So even as we advocate to protect NOAA and FEMA, we simply have to prepare for the very real possibility that these entities will be of diminished capacity.

That means we just, just to keep up, we will need more state funding, potentially hundreds of millions of dollars more in our state's Rainy Day Fund.

Even as federal commitments wane, in North Carolina, we are as focused as ever on keeping you safe.

Director Ray will lay out some of the steps that we're taking, including conducting statewide exercises to test our communication systems, performing readiness checks, and making improvements based on any gaps that we find.

Regardless of where you live in North Carolina, please know that we are on your team and working to keep you and your family safe.

We want to make sure that you have the knowledge and tools to protect yourselves and your families to the best of your abilities if a tropical storm or hurricane impacts your area.

And should that worst-case scenario occur, we will be by your side, helping you to recover and rebuild.

When federal resources aren't certain, personal and local preparedness becomes all the more important.

And the more you prepare, the more first responders can focus on keeping other people safe.

There are three categories of preparedness I want to cover today.

First, make sure that you have the items you need.

We've all been to the grocery store before a storm is about to hit and seen the shelves laid bare.

The time to put an emergency kit together is well before the storm is coming, with enough supplies for everyone in your family to last for three to five days.

Be sure to include water and non-perishable food.

Baby food, of course, if you have a baby.

The medications you need, and a solar or battery-powered radio.

In addition, think about putting together an emergency document kit, your important financial documents, IDs and contacts so that it's easy to grab them if you need to evacuate.

Second, make sure you have an evacuation and communication plan.

Talk to your family about what your shared evacuation plan is, how you'll get to safety, where you'll meet if you get separated from each other, and how you'll stay in touch with each other.

If you don't have your loved one's phone numbers memorized, write them down.

Keep them with your emergency document kit so that you can still get in touch with them if your phone dies.

Third, prepare your home.

That includes knowing how to shut off your utilities, making a list of your important personal items, taking a lot of photos of them in case there are losses, and checking to see if your home is at risk for flooding.

So let's get our things ready, our evacuation and communication plan ready, and our homes ready.

Preparing now may make all the difference if a disaster does strike.

My hope and prayer is that the hurricanes and tropical storms pass North Carolina by the season, but let's not take any chances.

Let's ensure that we'll be safe and that our loved ones will be safe too.

Today, I'm pleased to be joined by Director of Emergency Management Will Ray, Attorney General Jeff Jackson, First Sergeant Chris Knox with the State Highway Patrol, and Colonel Patrick Henderson of the North Carolina Army National Guard.

Our sign language interpreters are Mark Lineberger and Karen Magoon.

Behind the scenes, our Spanish language interpreters are Jackie Metevier and Tamara Cabrera.

At this time, I'll bring forward Director Will Ray.

Thank you, Governor.

Good afternoon, everyone.

As the Governor said, the 2025 hurricane season is upon us, and regardless of forecast, we know that it only takes one storm to impact our communities in a significant way.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, has released their 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season Forecast, which calls for 13 to 15 named storms, of which 6 to 10 could become hurricanes.

Three to five of those hurricanes are forecasted to reach major hurricane status, with winds over 110 mph.

North Carolina Emergency Management's focus remains on building a stronger, more resilient communities across North Carolina.

This begins at home.

Prepared residents, families, and communities are critical and more important now than ever.

All disasters in North Carolina start and end at the local level.

The purpose of the State Emergency Response Team - this is the interagency team of local, tribal, state, federal public sector agencies, the private sector, and our non-profit and volunteer agencies - is to support our local communities, whether in blue sky preparedness activities during emergency response and in recovery.

This year's hurricane season will look different.

The uncertainty and the evolution of the federal disaster response and recovery landscape reinforces the need for continued, strong partnerships at the state, local, and tribal levels.

Together, we can remain North Carolina Strong.

Amid the uncertainty surrounding the federal role in disaster management and recovery programs, the State Emergency Response Team, both here at the state level and at the local emergency management level, as well as our partners, have remained focused on preparing for this hurricane season and other events that may be over the horizon this year.

Here in North Carolina, we take the lessons learned from each event to better prepare for the next one.

We're already taking action on identified areas for improvement in the wake of Haleen.

The State Emergency Response Team is hosting workshops and planning sessions, conducting plan reviews, conducting operational and logistics readiness checks.

We are expanding our training and exercises to ensure that we are ready to respond and to support those local communities for what comes our way this season.

What can you do?

You can be informed and be prepared on how you will protect yourself, your family, and your community this hurricane season.

Being informed means finding reputable sources of information to help guide your decision-making so that you can take the right action at the right time.

For the most up-to-date information, tune in to the National Weather Service, your local media, and stay in touch with your local emergency management office.

This is an important step to ensure you are able to take action when needed, like around evacuation decisions and local orders.

There continues to be a tremendous amount of incorrect information on social media surrounding disasters.

It is so important that you fact-check what you see online and ask questions.

Remember that anyone can post anything that they wish online without regard to how it will impact people.

Second, make sure you have a disaster kit ready to go.

You need to make sure that you have enough supplies for each member of your household for three to five days.

Building a disaster kit doesn't have to be a large financial undertaking or a daunting task.

Only now on August 1st, add a little bit to your kit each week like non-perishable foods, drinking water, batteries, and disposable medical supplies.

You can learn more about what to put in your disaster kit by visiting www.readync.gov for recommendations on how to build your disaster kit.

Next, you need to have a plan and communicate that plan to your family.

Where will you go if you need to evacuate your home?

Do you live in a flood-prone area?

How will you and your family communicate if cell phone service is down?

If you get separated, where is your family's meeting place?

These types of questions should be answered ahead of any storm impacting your community.

Resilience starts at home and the time to get prepared is now.

Please visit www.readync.gov for more information.

Specifically for our Eastern North Carolina neighbors, do you know your zone?

Our state has locally developed pre-established evacuation zones along the coastal counties that are in place to save lives in areas where storm surge may be a particular hazard.

Visit knowyourzone.nc.gov to search your address so you have up-to-date information when local officials issue evacuation orders.

Finally, today I want to again highlight the North Carolina Flood Inundation Mapping and Alert Network, or PHIMON, which is a network of over 600 flood gauges across the state.

This tool can help not only government officials to make key decisions to save lives, but can help you and your family see what is occurring in the waterways near your home and what those forecasted impacts may be.

This is a statewide tool and assisted many during Haleen in Western North Carolina.

PHIMON is a free and publicly accessible website where you can sign up for flood alerts for the gauges closest to your home.

You can run flooding scenarios to see what flooding could look like in your neighborhood and access other flood tools through that website.

Again, visit phimon.nc.gov to explore this resource.

I remain incredibly proud of the men and women of the North Carolina State Emergency Response Team, and we remain focused and committed to supporting the 10.8 million people who call North Carolina home and the communities in which they live.

As we all do our part, together we can be North Carolina Strong, continuing to support Western North Carolina recovery and ensuring preparedness for this hurricane season.

Thank you.

At this time, I'll turn it over to Attorney General Jackson.

Hi, folks.

Good to see you.

The director and governor gave an excellent account of how to be prepared before the hurricane.

I'd like to talk a little bit about some things to think about after the hurricane, and this is stuff that we learned going through Haleen from the standpoint of NCDOJ, our mission being to protect all of you from people who mean you harm.

In particular, folks who try to take advantage of families after a major disaster like a hurricane.

Here's some of what we saw in Haleen that I want you to keep in mind if and when you find yourself in a post-hurricane situation.

First, watch out for price gouging.

We do know that there are some unscrupulous business owners who try to take advantage of people when scarce goods are in high demand.

In that situation, the state of North Carolina has special authority to go after price gougers.

I want you to do your best to report them, even if you're not the one being price gouged.

If you witness that, I want you to let us know, ncdoj.gov, 1-877-5-NOSCAM.

We find enforceable action very often because of the tips that we get from all of you.

Don't forget to help everybody else out by providing us with that information.

Two types of scams that we saw post-Haleen that I want everybody to be on the lookout for.

First, is a charity scam.

There are folks who take advantage of the impulse that people have to help their neighbors after a major disaster, and they set up false charities.

Please be sure and double check before you give a dime to any charity that it's a real charity.

We will, at that moment, through the governor's office, put out a list of pre-approved charities.

Please at least look at that and consider giving to one of those before you find something else.

The other big scam that we see post-Haleen, and still see, is a repair scam.

People who hold themselves out as contractors or having access to some type of relief funding, you need to watch out for that.

Particularly when it comes to people who say they're going to provide a service as a rule do not provide full payment up front.

If they're demanding full payment up front, that should be a big red flag.

If they're demanding payment in cryptocurrency, if they say I'll only work for Bitcoin, that's a huge red flag.

Not just for a post-hurricane environment, but just going forward, please know that.

Really appreciate everybody taking the time to put a little advanced planning in as hurricane season comes up, and I will be followed by the governor.

Thank you, Attorney General.

At this time, if folks in the room have questions, feel free to approach the microphones on either side and we'll do our best to answer.

Hi, thanks for being here.

Dina with CBS 17.

Obviously Haleen Recovery and sort of making sure we're prepared in Western North Carolina took up a bunch of funding.

Can somebody talk a little bit about what funding we're using now to prepare for future storms or any like resiliency that we're prepping for there?

That is an issue that is being negotiated between the two branches of the legislature right now.

How big is our rainy day fund?

It's called CERDF, a state emergency response fund, something close enough.

In my budget, I had proposed adding $500 million to that to build it up a little bit in the eventuality of future hurricanes.

The Senate proposed spending it down nearly to the bottom.

The House added more money.

So this is going to be one of the issues that we're negotiating.

But the proposals that folks are talking about with FEMA, either raising the bar of the size of the storm before FEMA will kick in at all, before there's any federal help, or when the storm does meet that standard, going from a 90% to a 75% federal match, meaning that the state has to come up with 25% instead of 10, it has the potential to impact state budgets by hundreds of millions of dollars.

There was just a story on this today on Spectrum News.

So I encourage folks to be aware that what the administration is proposing, the Secretary of Homeland Security says we want to eliminate FEMA.

But even if you dramatically restructure FEMA and have this federal government step away from helping states that are hit, there's going to be a real financial consequence to each state that's impacted, and we have to budget accordingly.

Chris Peterson, WXII 12 News.

Director Wray spoke about having meetings and looking over the response to Helene and basically an after-action report.

What are some of those things that you saw that needed improving, and what are some things that are being done to improve those issues that you found?

I'll talk about a couple and then bring forward Director Wray.

One is communication.

We need to improve the redundancy of communication.

When it went to Western North Carolina, the ability of people to talk to other people was wiped out, in many cases, for a week or more.

We've got to do better than that, and we're working hard to address it.

I would say the second is the speed with which misinformation spread on social media.

And so we have to figure out what can we do to get factual information out and to encourage people to seek out that factual information rather than to just repost some outrageous claim that just happened on social media.

And Director Wray, if you'd come forward and pick up the ball.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you for the question.

I think in addition to what the Governor said, I think there were a couple other big areas that were, I think, identified in our initial after-action review.

One was on, I think, general workforce capacity.

We've seen a significant amount of turnover and new individuals coming into the workforce at both the state and local level.

And so as we have, over the last several months, kind of pivoted from response in Haleen to more of a recovery role, as that has continued to move forward and as other parts of the agency have pivoted to ensure we are prepared for whatever comes later this year, we've restructured our cross-training program, we've restructured some of the exercises we're doing both internally as well as with our state partners to take a specific look into some of the areas and functional areas specifically that we know were a challenge during Haleen, like critical infrastructure.

I think the other item is kind of foundationally the funding model for emergency management here in North Carolina, both at a state level and a local level, is heavily reliant on federal grant funding.

And so we are continuing to work with both the Governor and the legislature as well as our delegation in D.C. on how we get a more sustainable funding model to support what is critical emergency management services across North Carolina.

I think this is in addition to some of the areas that the Governor has already identified.

Last thing I would say is on the logistics front, we knew a significant, again, Haleen was a catastrophic, significant event.

And again, as it fades in the rear view for some, I think we need to continue to remind folks what the impact of that was at the end of September, beginning of October in 2024 and what we were looking at at that point.

The volume of needs across the disaster area has caused us to reevaluate our logistical supply chain, the types of commodities, the amounts and what we have staged in our warehouses, what we have available through contract services, making sure we're diversifying those contract services as we look at what may or may not be available from the federal government for future events.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you, Director.

Yes.

Governor, we saw in recent months FEMA start to ratchet down the reimbursement rate specifically for debris cleanup for Haleen in the event that the state needs to again request reimbursement from FEMA.

Have you had any conversations or do you have any expectation about what that reimbursement rate is going to look like and what the timeline is going to look like?

The way that reimbursement rates work with FEMA is the scale of the storm.

If it's a small storm, it's zero.

If it's a medium-sized storm, it's 75%.

If it's a major storm, it's 90.

And if it's truly catastrophic, it's 100%.

We had 100% reimbursement from the federal government for six months on debris removal.

I requested that that be extended beyond six months.

That is something that the federal government has done in prior storms of similar destructiveness.

So I was hopeful that it would be granted.

It was not, and I'm disappointed by that.

But we're now focused on continuing to have a very constructive relationship with FEMA.

They reimburse the local governments and the state for doing that debris removal for the 90% or depending on what the particular project or infrastructural repair is.

So we are looking forward to a continued constructive relationship with them and hope that they remain on their toes as we move into the next hurricane season so that should we get hit again that they will be our active partner as they have historically been.

You know, Director Ray noted to the last question how one of the issues we confronted was there were a lot of new people in emergency management positions out west in the state.

That is one reason why it's critical to have a strong FEMA because most states don't experience natural disasters on an annual basis the way that it feels like we do here in North Carolina.

Other states may not have a natural disaster for eight years, ten years, who knows.

So the people in those positions are brand new and have never been through a big storm before and won't have the muscle memory of how to respond in that moment when all of a sudden the storm goes from a class C to a class A storm.

So we need the expertise that exists in FEMA to be there to serve this country.

And that's a message that I've been trying to convey to the federal government and the administration as they are determining what kind of future they want for FEMA.

Michael Perchick, ABC11.

What changes to planning have come as a result of the environmental or geographic impacts of Helene, Matthew, and Florence, or does development in certain areas?

When we get funding from the federal government to do major rebuilds, there are requirements that it have certain resiliency requirements that you don't rebuild in the flood zone.

We are just starting that process in western North Carolina.

We're starting the home reconstruction.

We're getting close to finalizing our contract with HUD, not FEMA, but with HUD.

They're the ones who provide the home reconstruction money through the CDBGDR, Disaster Recovery Fund.

In eastern North Carolina, that work is further along.

So all these houses that we've been working hard to finalize after Hurricane Matthew, they're up high.

They've been raised out of the flood zone.

What we want to make sure is if a storm hits a community again, we've done everything in our power to ensure that the degree of damage is substantially less the second time.

And I'll bring forward the director, see if he has anything he wants to add.

I think the governor, I think, hit it.

We want to make sure we're maximizing all available programs and funding, whether it's federal or state provided, to build this infrastructure back in a stronger way that can mitigate the impacts of whatever the event is, whether it's a natural hazard or something different.

And so I think we are working together as the interagency to look at the programs we have through FEMA, to look at the HUD programs that he referenced, as well as some of the state-funded programs.

How can we maximize the dollars that we have to get infrastructure rebuilt in a significantly stronger way?

The infrastructure that's been rebuilt, just development in general, this is one of the fast-growing states in the country.

Is there any concern of impacts to floodplains based off this new development or having enough roadways that can access for emergency vehicles in the event it does hit one of these areas?

Fortunately, this is an area where the market really helps.

Developers can't get financing for their projects if they're in a flood zone because they can't get flood insurance.

And so we are in the - if you could give an update on the mapping, the LIDAR mapping, we are always trying to have a better understanding of where the risks are.

And so we're in the midst of doing some floodplain mapping for the whole state, and I will ask the director to come forward.

On that note, I think there's a couple things that happen.

Here in North Carolina, I think we're very fortunate to have some capabilities both within various agencies at the state level but also in some partner agencies that allow us to take quick reference pre- and post-disaster imagery.

Some folks will refer to that as LIDAR.

What that does is allow us, I think, from a disaster response standpoint, I think quickly capture and quantify damages to infrastructure, homes, and just wherever it is across the area, as well as kind of further down the line, help communities as they make these redevelopment decisions or planning decisions from local zoning efforts.

Through both the efforts of flying this LIDAR imagery that is starting to come in now and we're providing to our local communities that were impacted, particularly in Helene now, starts to see some of that data as they look at some of their zoning and development decisions that they have to make.

We have also, over the last couple of years, had several pots of funding for updated river basin studies.

Both of those pieces together, I think, are important ones as we look at, to your question, how do we quantify development that is happening or has happened or is planned based on population growth, how that's going to impact flooding, and then, to your point, I think how water operates very differently in the topography of the mountains than it does here in central North Carolina or certainly in the east.

I think those are all things, again, we're trying to take a look at now and providing the best information to our local communities as they look at some of these redevelopment decisions they have in front of them right now.

Thank you.

Yes?

And related to that, how involved does the state get in evacuation decisions outside of those coastal zones?

And has Helene made you rethink any ways that you're doing that in the mountain counties, for example?

We'll let you take that one.

So thank you for that question.

I think, as you referenced, on the eastern side of the state, I think, for better or for worse, the events that we have had the opportunity to respond in over many years really identified the need for predetermined evacuation zones for our coastal counties.

That's something that not just North Carolina but other states to our south and in our region that are both Atlantic or Gulf states have also put into place over the years.

So I think that's one step that we wanted to take as we look at the impacts from some of our coastal hurricanes over the last several years.

I think, obviously, water comes in and recedes very differently in our coastal communities than it does in the mountains.

And so I think what we want to do is, looking at all of the available kind of funding streams we have out there, both federal or state, how can we bolster the flood gauges that we have across the state to make sure we're getting good data?

How do we also maximize the alert and warning systems associated with those gauges?

From a redundant communications standpoint, how are we equipping local communities to make those decisions and have the technology that they need to quickly issue those orders?

Here in North Carolina, it is a locally driven decision on evacuation.

Our role is how can we be a technical support, how can we provide technical assistance and provide communities that need it the information and the resources to make those right operational decisions for them at that lowest operational level as quickly as possible.

And if I could, a second question.

This may not be price gouging per se, but how does the state deal with these really, really expensive recovery contracts?

We saw the report from the auditor about the Swannanoa shower and laundry facility.

How can anything be done to keep those costs down?

We're always prudent when it comes to spending government money, taxpayer money.

I understand this was a catastrophic storm and our top priority is the health and safety of people.

This was a community that had no running water for weeks.

Folks needed a place to shower.

They needed a place to wash their clothes.

They needed that from a sanitary perspective.

It was also immediately following a catastrophic storm where we're asking people to leave their families and go live in who knows what kind of conditions for weeks on end.

All the water that was generated by those stations had to be disposed of somehow, somewhere.

They weren't connected to a water and sewer system.

So these services are expensive.

Just as a matter of course, our priority is always going to be the health and the safety of the people of North Carolina.

We will do it in the most fiscally prudent way we can.

That station was stood up within 72 hours of that storm, which is really fairly incredible.

It made a major life improvement to thousands and thousands of people.

Thank you.

Afternoon, this is Jatrissa Wooten with Spectrum News.

My question is, are you concerned about how federal budget cuts and staffing shortages at the National Weather Service will affect decisions before the storm and during the storm?

The answer to your question is yes.

I'm very concerned.

I was just watching a newscast from Florida where they talked about there are fewer weather balloons in the air than there were.

There's fewer people to interpret the data that's coming from whatever sensors are out there.

I want to make sure that we have the best information as quickly as we can so that we can make the best decisions that we can.

And I think that we all have reason to be worried.

There are cuts happening at the federal government that are going to impact the quality of services that affect people's lives.

Last question, I'm sorry, one more for DOT.

So did you guys feel like you learned anything from Florence or Helene?

And if so, what did you guys learn from those previous storms that you'll probably implement with this, any other storms, future storms?

And I'm saying, was it related to a particular department?

I didn't hear the first thing you said when you spoke.

DOT.

I don't know if you'd like to speak for Sergeant or Will, do you want to take that?

Okay, thank you.

So with this storm, it was much different.

You know, we've had so much practice, unfortunately, with eastern storms.

But with DOT and our relationship with them, we saw that having a plan to respond to areas that were, you know, like in the eastern areas of the state, you know, most of our evacuation roadways are your major roadways.

So our major roadways were significantly impacted.

So pre-planning with DOT, having equipment in place like I-40 and your old fort, having a plan to clear that.

We know that that area is susceptible to rock slides.

And so having that plan in place was important.

But then looking at that and looking at the areas that we did have issues, especially the major areas like I-40, having secondary routes that are available to get people out.

So those are things that going into this year, you know, how can we look at last year and the western areas and the eastern areas and have those established routes, but have secondary routes, have plans to respond to those primary routes with the equipment needed to clear those roadways quickly are all things that are being talked about and then are talked about annually.

Thank you.

Appreciate that.

We'll now take some questions from online or on the phone.

First question comes from Sam Walker, OBX News.

Sam, unmute your microphone and go ahead and ask your question.

Thanks.

I've got two questions actually.

You've already identified a couple of things that could have been handled better.

What did you find that the state as a whole got right and any particular agencies that did things right in response to Helene as well as PTC-8 and Debbie?

And Governor Stein, any thoughts on creating a sales tax holiday for disaster prep items similar to what Virginia, Texas, Alabama, and Florida already did?

I'll take the second one first.

I'm certainly open to that.

I proposed a sales tax holiday for families going back to school and I can see the logic of how having a similar sales tax holiday for disaster prep may make sense.

So happy to engage the legislature on that.

I think a lot went right.

I mean, this was a devastating, catastrophic storm.

There were local officials out there in the middle of the storm knocking on people's doors, making sure that they were alive.

I talked to a mother and a grandmother who they left their house, they drove to the house based on a well-person visit.

And then from the time that they went in to get the grandmother out, the car had already washed away.

And they got through the rushing waters up the hill.

And those three people are alive today because they were on their toes and they were looking out for each other.

So the response of people looking out for each other, predominantly sheriffs and their deputies, but also local police, local firefighters, just incredible work that was done.

In the recovery phase, the DOT has done a tremendous job getting roads back up and running.

Obviously there's going to be a ton of work more to do.

We estimate about $5 to $6 billion in road damage, and we've done about a billion dollars of work so far.

So there is a long way to go, but the vast majority of routes have been reopened.

And that is really a testament to the men and women who work at the Department of Transportation and the contractors who assist them.

Will, would you like to add to that list?

Because I know there are many people worthy of praise.

And I'll start with Will Ray.

How about that?

He did a great job.

I think two items to add.

I think one, and I won't try to name the teams because I'll leave someone out, but the statewide search and rescue program here in North Carolina, as well as our statewide hazardous materials response programs, I think are two examples of when programs are resourced appropriately for years and dedicated time, energy is spent developing capacity, capability, you spend the time away from your agencies in blue sky training and doing exercises.

We saw the value of that during the Helene response.

The statewide search and rescue program, the statewide hazardous materials program involves many of these partners you see up here as well and all of our local jurisdictions.

That system performed exceptionally well in the conditions that we had.

The other thing I would say, and you're going to get sick of hearing me say this from up here is partnership continues to be the key of everything that we do.

So all the agencies that are represented as a part of the state emergency response team, regardless of public, private, nonprofit and volunteer agency, the capabilities they bring to bear is the strength of what we have here in North Carolina.

And it's why other states look to North Carolina to provide that support back to them.

Over the last several months, we've deployed search and rescue teams and other capabilities to states around us that have experienced pretty significant events.

And these are teams that deployed during Helene, they're ready to go again.

That partnership piece served us incredibly well.

So the these interstate relationships that we have dealt with and and fostered over the years led to 3839 states sending individuals, resources, teams to help us during Helene.

That system worked incredibly well.

And as you've heard from the governor, and as you've heard from members of the congressional delegation and others across the country, as we look at the changes with FEMA and what may be coming on the horizon, states working together through that interstate mutual aid process is going to continue to be a focus of ours.

And so we're going to continue to foster and develop those really critical partnerships.

And I also wanted to praise the Highway Patrol and the National Guard.

Highway Patrol, they were fully deployed on our highways, which were incredibly treacherous to ensure that motorists were safe.

And the National Guard went to a number of towns, and the National Guard's folks were in the stores, mucking out the mud to get that get it cleaned up.

You can't start rebuilding as long as you have a foot worth of mud in your store.

And they did an incredible job helping people in Western North Carolina.

So I want to thank both organizations.

Next question.

Final question is from Zoe Schlanger with the Atlantic.

Zoe, please unmute yourself and ask your question.

[silence] We're not hearing you, Zoe.

[silence] All right.

Thank you all very much for being here.