South Carolina can now request more federal funding for Hurricane Florence relief efforts.
SC Gov. Henry McMaster told US Rep. Tom Rice in a letter that – at Rice’s request – he is increasing the estimate for community development block grant relief from $108 million to $435 million.
Based on assessments made while severe flooding was ongoing throughout the region, officials initially estimated that Florence – which poured days’ worth of rain on both North and South Carolina – caused more than $1 billion in damage.
In his letter, McMaster gave a new damage estimate of $607 million based on actual damage reports and on-the-ground assessments. That number also includes about $125 million in agricultural damage and $111 million in flood insurance-related claims, reported The Associated Press, which obtained a copy of the letter.
With the increased block grant request, the total for estimated storm damage has been raised to over $930 million.
