08/21/2026
County Flood Damage Thresholds Not Met for State Assistance
AUGUST 21st, 2026
(MOUNT AIRY, NC). As discussed in the previous press release, a North Carolina State of Emergency is
governed by criteria specified in general statute. State law mandates a minimum of 25 homes must have
each sustained uninsured losses of 40% or more of the estimated fair replacement value or pre-disaster
fair market value of damaged property, whichever is lower. In order to make a fair determination on whether or not Surry County met this threshold, a comprehensive damage assessment was conducted.
The damage assessment consisted of a site visit from North Carolina Emergency Management (NCEM)
Recovery Unit, the deployment of Damage Assessment Teams into affected areas, and the Damage Assessment Questionnaire for self-reporting damage. Supporting and follow-up assessments were further conducted by the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) Mission Mules and Team Rubicon.Additional data sources, including 911 calls, were used to contribute to the assessment.
While over 220 impact sites were recorded, the number of homes meeting these criteria is below the
needed threshold to receive a state-level declaration. No additional damage sites meeting criteria have
been found or reported since the damage assessment started almost 20 days ago. At this time, the Surry
County Office of Emergency Management and North Carolina Emergency Management Recovery Unit do not anticipate assistance coming from the Individual Assistance and Public Assistance programs.
The City of Mount Airy is still in the process of evaluating the degree of assistance available to residents of the municipality. City residents should refer to municipal officials for updates on the Public AssistanceProgram. For funding and aid purposes, the damage and loss concentrated within the city limits is separate from the rest of the county.
Fee waivers for well water sampling and permit fees are still in effect for impacted households. As
recovery continues, affected residents are encouraged to reduce or address mold growth as soon as possible. The state Department of Health & Human Services has a resource page to help provide
information and removal guidance: https://epi.dph.ncdhhs.gov/oee/a_z/mold.html.
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