Hurricane Helene Killed His Wife and Destroyed His Mobile Home. New Tenants Are Now Renting the Same Flood-Prone Land.

Hurricane Helene Killed His Wife and Destroyed His Mobile Home. New Tenants Are Now Renting the Same Flood-Prone Land. by Ren Larson, The Assembly Co-published with The Assembly September 2, 2026, 5:00 am https://www.propublica.org/article/western-north-carolina-helene-mobile-home-fema-recovery?utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=majorinvestigations&utm_content=river Reporting Highlights Policy Gap: A federal program meant to reduce the risk of death from natural disasters often excludes mobile homes, the country’s largest source of affordable housing. Repeated Flooding: Multiple storms have swept homes out of a North Carolina trailer park, but new residents continue to move to those same flood-prone plots. Having Little Say: Former residents think no one should live so close to the water. A federal buyout could keep homes off the riskiest areas, but that decision is up to the park’s owners.