Even a year after Hurricane Florence hit North Carolina, hurricane insurance claims haven’t brought the New Bern area back to life.

According to Insurance Journal, a Doubletree Hotel in the area flooded, but was supposed to reopen by the end of 2018. After several delays to its reopening, the Doubletree remains closed. Tanika Outlaw, who worked as the hotel’s food and beverage manager, had hoped she would receive unemployment insurance just long enough for the hotel to reopen.

Outlaw went without health insurance for months rather than try to pay the extra $300 per month to be placed on her husband’s health insurance policy. She eventually received $4,000 from a nonprofit organization called Genesis 457, which has allowed the family to pay bills while she attempts to find a job similar in benefits and pay to what she had been earning at Doubletree. Right now, she’s working as a teacher’s assistant.

According to records released by North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a whopping $1.9 billion in state and federal funds have been put towards Hurricane Florence recovery efforts. The state suffered about $17 billion total in damage from Hurricane Florence in an area that was still in the midst of using $921 million in state and federal funds to restore damage suffered by Hurricane Matthew in 2016.

After Hurricane Florence stalled over North Carolina and inundated parts of the state with more than 30 inches of rain, 140,000 residents in and near Wilmington sought disaster assistance.

Donations poured in to the Disaster Relief Fund, which held $5.9 million, and the Golden LEAF Foundation issued $5.4 million in relief grants from that fund. These grants helped people with acute needs such as housing, clothing and food, but long-term recovery efforts are now focusing on affordable housing, fixing damaged infrastructure, and the financial and emotional health of families and businesses.

The Wilmington Area Rebuilding Ministry (WARM) is helping by asking volunteers to donate time and labor to repair roofs and water damage. Even with volunteer labor, it can cost more than $40,000 to fully repair a home that’s been damaged by floodwaters.

There are still more than 100 homes damaged by Hurricane Florence that remain on a waiting list for WARM to fix. Before Hurricane Dorian hit this year, volunteers from WARM covered the unrepaired houses with tarps to try to prevent further damage.

Hurricane Insurance Claims Include Damage from Dorian-Related Tornado

Residents on Emerald Isle on the Outer Banks of North Carolina saw their property hit by a tornado spawned by the approaching Hurricane Dorian. Hundreds of mobile homes were tossed around like toys, and left in twisted piles of metal and shattered glass.

One 83-year-old resident told NBC News she grabbed her kitchen countertop as she felt her mobile home start to lift off the ground. She said she’s managed the trailer park for 20 years, and was relieved when she felt her home set back down. Few escaped such a gentle ride.

Some residents who nearly lost their homes during Hurricane Florence did lose their homes due to Dorian’s water spout that caused massive wreckage to the entire island.

While they wait to see if hurricane insurance claims will even cover the damage caused by the tornado, residents are uncertain if there is enough infrastructure left to even rebuild a viable home life on the island.