As the road to recovery continues, many state residents are still displaced by Hurricane Helene. Nearly a month later, storm victims like Michael Moore are going through the challenges of rebuilding or finding a new normal.

Moore’s house on Seay Ct. in Forest Acres was destroyed after a massive tree fell on top of it. He explained that he and his family had to find another house to rent until theirs was rebuilt. “Right now, we’re in a nice spot on the road that we’re renting, and the insurance pays for it,” Moore said.

The recent changes and the loss of the home he’s lived in for twenty years almost brought him to tears, but despite the destruction, he’s grateful for the support he’s received and the opportunity to move on. “I’m lucky, you know, I have good neighbors, you know, a good job,” Moore said.

FEMA officials held a news conference Thursday morning in which they revealed they had approved more than $200 million and accepted about 400,000 applications. FEMA Coordinating Officer Bret Howard recognized the different needs of each victim. “There are a lot of survivors here and a lot of them injured and needing something,” Howard said. Howard said there are currently still many people in transitional shelters, FEMA hotels or staying with friends and family due to storm damage. Moore said relief for each family or individual is different. “Everybody’s different, not everybody gets the same amount of money,” Howard said.

The recovery process has many moving parts, leaving some people unsure of their next steps. “The problem is you don’t have any direction on what steps to take,” Moore said.

Currently, there are eight disaster relief sites and 6000 people have already been helped. Howard urged people to stay on top of their cases. “If you haven’t heard back, he called us back, come to the DRC,” Howard said.

People continue to move forward in the recovery process, but the journey to normalcy is far from over.