Helene Hurricane Recovery Report

On Friday, Sept. 27, 90 percent of city residents woke up without power. More than 67% of traffic signals did not function. Low-lying areas flooded. And streets were riddled with downed trees, many entangled dangerously in power lines.

A month later on Oct. 28, City Manager Shannon Lavrin gave City Council a comprehensive report on the ongoing effort - across multiple city departments - to recover from Hurricane Helene.

Appropriately, Lavrin delivered the report on National First Responders Day, as she took the opportunity to honor our Fire, Police and Public Works crews, as well as the many City employees who continue to assist residents and rebuild in the wake of a devastating hurricane.

"Our operations departments should be considered first responders. Their role in this emergency event was critical. In fact, every City department has played a part in our recovery efforts and employees whose homes were damaged came to work every day to help our residents and businesses," Lavrin said. "We have also received tremendous support from our community and we are very grateful."

Highlights:

• Public Works crews made an unprecedented effort to work alongside Duke Energy utility workers, to speed restoration efforts.
• Four days after the storm, Public Works completed trash, recycling and bulk waste pickups on schedule.
• To date, more than 260,000 cubic yards of debris has been collected. The majority will be processed to become mulch.
• The Greenville Zoo reopened Oct. 5 and is holding its annual Boo the Zoo celebration on schedule.
• The Swamp Rabbit Trail reopened Oct. 3 and 130 volunteers showed up Oct. 26 to help clear debris in city parks.
• The TD Saturday Market returned Oct. 5 and 12, accepting donations for a local food pantry. Vendors saw the highest sales of the season.
• Limited bus service returned on Sept. 30 after a two-day closure. Normal service returned on Oct. 5.
• A total of 82 permits were issued for storm damage. The city manager directed all permitting fees for storm damage to be waived.
• Engineers and inspectors assessed damage at 300 homes and businesses located in the flood plain.

Download the full Hurricane Helene Report (PDF)