HUD SE Regional Adminstrator Cleveland-Leggett Visits New Bern in aftermath of Hurricane Florence

RA Gov NC: Left to right: Jody Moses, HUD NC Field Office Director, Governor Roy Cooper, HUD SE Regional Administrator Denise Cleveland-Leggett, Mike Sprayberry, NC EMA Director and Christopher Taylor HUD Deputy Regional Administrator.

Some hard-hit Hurricane Florence residents of New Bern public housing continue to recover from it's devastating aftermath were greeted recently by HUD Southeast Regional Administrator Denise Cleveland-Leggett who visited to assess firsthand conditions and to better understand their needs. Accompanied by the HUD Southeast Deputy Regional Administrator Christopher Taylor and North Carolina Field Office Director Jody Moses, Regional Administrator Cleveland-Leggett visited Trent Courts a 1940's era public housing development where over 200 residents were displaced because of significant flooding damage. In addition to the Trent Courts visit Cleveland-Leggett met with survivors at two local shelters, a distribution center and with North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper.

The New Bern Housing Authority Executive Director, Martin Blaney, provided a tour of Trent Courts which included an update on the units in various stages of clean up and Cleveland-Leggett was able to speak with several affected residents, some of whom had cleaned up their homes from the devastation and were now able to start returning.

One such returning resident described her initial experience when Florence hit as "the scariest moment in her life-I thought I was going to die." The evidence of Florence's devastation could be seen in the piles of furniture, bedding, appliances and personal belongings littering the sidewalks all victims of the storm surge and rainfall that beset the community.

"There's no way you can witness what we have seen and not want to come to N.C. and provide help, "said, Cleveland-Leggett. "I'm here today to assess the damage and see what assistance HUD can provide and HUD is committed to standing with our partners to help the citizens of the North Carolina and New Bern recover and rebuild their homes and their lives."

"I was amazed at the resiliency of the residents and their positive outlook on the future and the recovery given the devastation," added Moses.

New Bern and the surrounding area were heavily impacted by Hurricane Florence with estimated damages for New Bern and Craven County exceeding $400 million with more than 2,200 buildings and homes with 2 feet or more of water damage.

This needing HUD Recovery Assistance may call 1-800-304-9320 or email recovery@hud.gov to learn about your options.

New Bern Trent Court flooding BEFORE shot next to AFTER shot with HUD SE Regional Administrator Denise Cleveland-Leggett touring damages and receiving update about Trent Courts, New Bern Public Housing.

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