McMaster asks for $621 million for hurricane relief; launches farm and forest recovery days
S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster is asking for $621 million from the federal government as the S.C. Department of Agriculture and S.C. Forestry Commission estimate the total damages from storms over the last year.
McMaster wrote a letter to the South Carolina’s congressional delegation requesting its support in securing the funding. At a Friday press conference, McMaster, the forestry commission, an SC representative from FEMA and the Department of Agriculture commissioner spoke about the damage the state endured and what financial aid they need.
The damage totals nearly $621 million from Hurricane Helene, Tropical Storm Debby, and this summer’s flash drought, the agencies said.
McMaster also announced the launch of Farm and Forest Recovery Resource Days for farmers who need to be connected with resources and information, starting Friday, Nov. 15.
Similar to South Carolina county days, the farm and forestry days will offer a “one-stop shop,” where farmers and communities can connect with South Carolina resources for help.
“The federal system is the one that has the money, and we want to be sure that we take advantage of all of those resources to help our farms and forests,” McMaster said. “Many farms have been left incapacitated with downed trees in passenger roads and other storm related challenges making recovery efforts even more difficult.”
2024 was a challenging year for farmers, Agriculture Commissioner Hugh Weathers said noting that the drought in July had an impact of over $31 million for farmers and their crops. Tropical Storm Debby in August caused $133 million of crop and livestock loss with just under $5 million in infrastructure. And then Helene caused $65 million in crop and livestock loss. and $193 million in infrastructure law and $194 million in timber loss.
There are also gaps in damage that are very hard to assess, such as the loss of pecan trees, where income from them will be missed for five-to-six years while the trees come back into production, Weathers said.
Scott Phillips, state forester, said over 210,000 acres of forest were damaged by Hurricane Helene and 78% of that land belongs to private individuals. He said $83 million of that is direct timber losses for landowners and $51 million of that is impacts to forest based businesses, such as loggers.
Private forest landowners and forest-based businesses lack the tools to recover from natural disasters, so federal funding is necessary to ensure they are not left vulnerable and able to recover and prepare for future storms, Phillips said. Recent mill closures also exacerbated this, resulting in poor market conditions, he said.
Phillips said there was a tremendous loss of urban canopy cover in upper Greenville area. These aren’t necessarily iconic trees, but they provide shade and are essential to some of those communities, he said. The estimate is hard to even total now without having started to replant and regenerate these areas, according to Phillips.
Phillips said Helene was very different from other hurricanes, including Hurricane Hugo, which caused a billion dollar damage to forestry.
Brett Howard, the federal coordinating officer for Hurricane Helene, said about 750 federal staff are on the ground, 600 those of FEMA workers, and about 100 to 150 or so are from other federal agencies.
“At FEMA we really understand the importance of the agriculture community in this region,” Howard said. “It is the lifeblood of this state. It’s the lifeblood of our nation. If farmers don’t work, we don’t eat. It’s that simple.”
