Gov. Josh Stein visited one of the hardest hit areas from Tropical Depression Chantal Tuesday afternoon to tour Lake Michael Park in Mebane and survey the flood aftermath.
The dam Stein surveyed was under construction at the time of the flood, closing the park until further notice.
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The city was in the process of reconstructing that dam and adding an additional 10-foot dam on top of the pre-existing one—a move that saved nine homes with families in a neighborhood downstream, Stein said.
“When they were building a new spillway to enhance [the dam’s] safety, they decided to put in an interim dam far in excess of what anybody would reasonably consider necessary, but thank goodness they did,” said Stein.
He continued, “Had they not done that and that dam breached…thousands of people in this state would have died. Thank God that's not the story. The story is that the government came together and took reasonable precautions to keep people safe. [And] that means we need a government that costs a little bit of money.”
When asked what his administration is doing to make sure funding is allocated to local emergency management services, Stein’s immediate answer was that he was concerned that the General Assembly has not yet passed a budget.
“We’re working off of last year’s budget, we need a new budget that will make sure our state emergency management is well-funded.”
Stein continued to say that there were real funding concerns with the federal government, as a lot of the state’s management personnel is paid for from federal funding.
He continued to say that he is concerned about the federal government stepping away from some of the resilience investment needed as a state. He said his administration is working hard to secure that funding so the state doesn’t experience widespread layoffs.
Stein added that the state has not declared a state of emergency because the disaster was limited to a few counties.
Four counties have already declared their own county states of emergency, but Stein said the state has been actively involved with sending in resources and teams since the flooding began Sunday night.
“The government certainly has the back of the people of North Carolina,” he said. “We also have to have people have the back of each other, and that starts with each of us having our own back.”
Stein emphasized to the public to listen to your local weather forecasts and stay tuned to your local emergency management warnings. He urged being subscribed to your county’s Emergency Alert System, especially ahead of storms that are to come. Wednesday and Thursday carry a medium flood risk for wide swaths of central North Carolina.
“These storms are coming with an intensity that we are not expecting,” he added. “We are going to do everything in our power to keep people safe. We have a lot more weather coming this week. The ground is heavily saturated. Make sure that you keep yourself out of harm's way, and we will do everything we can to help you.”