Greenwood County, South Carolina – The South Carolina Office of Resilience (SCOR) Disaster Recovery Department joined the first Hurricane Helene Rapid Rebuild homeowner on January 14, 2026 to celebrate completion of a newly-constructed stick-built home. SCOR determined that damage to a Greenwood County resident’s home caused during Hurricane Helene classified the structure as “destroyed.” Through SCOR’s state-funded Rapid Rebuild disaster recovery program, the Agency replaced the destroyed mobile home with a permanent, “stick-built” house that meets safe, sanitary, secure, and resilient Housing Quality Standards (HQS).

Hurricane Helene impacted South Carolina in late September 2024 and resulted in a federal Disaster Declaration, and 28 counties plus the Catawba Indian Nation receiving Individual Assistance (IA) from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Following subsequent damage assessments, the estimated housing unmet needs­­—damage left unaddressed after FEMA assistance, insurance payouts, etc.—in South Carolina exceeded $1.7 billion. 

Recognizing the significant housing assistance needs, and pursuing its mission to deploy funds held in the SC Disaster Relief and Resilience Reserve Fund to provide disaster relief assistance following federally declared disasters, SCOR established the Rapid Rebuild Program. This state-funded endeavor, supplemented by a $1 million donation from Google, LLC, currently rebuilds or replaces homes destroyed by Hurricane Helene in select counties with a FEMA IA declaration.

To improve the resilience of homes to future hazards, Rapid Rebuild adheres to a set of Housing Quality Standards and Resilient Building Practices. Namely among these are the inclusion of an enhanced roof to minimize the likelihood of water leakage, a continuous load path to secure the roof to the home’s foundation, and hurricane impact resistant windows. Furthermore, for residents with a mobile home who own the land where they live, SCOR can replace a destroyed mobile home with a stick-built home—built on a permanent foundation.

Rapid Rebuild supplements SCOR’s federally-funded disaster recovery program: a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) grant allocated to South Carolina in response to Hurricane Helene. With this program, SCOR may repair, replace, or rebuild homes damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Helene, in addition to conducting voluntary buyouts for repetitively-flooded homes.

Between the two programs, SCOR will serve impacted residents in 17 counties, and is currently expanding Rapid Rebuild to serve all 28 counties with a FEMA IA declaration and the Catawba Indian Nation that are not identified by HUD to be served through the CDBG-DR program. 

SCOR is currently accepting applications for assistance with unmet needs caused by Hurricane Helene.

Assistance with Housing and all other types of disaster-caused unmet needs:

For residents of all counties with a FEMA IA declaration and the Catawba Indian Nation.

Eligible Housing Recovery Programs: Rapid Rebuild & CDBG-DR

Call 803-898-2511, or visit your nearest Disaster Case Management Regional Office (open Monday-Friday from 8:30-5:00):

Columbia, SC: 2100 Bull Street, Columbia, SC 29201.

Central, SC: 100 Church Street, Central, SC 29630.

Spartanburg, SC: 145 N. Church Street, Spartanburg, SC 29306.

Aiken, SC: 900 Trail Ridge Road, Aiken, SC 29803.

Assistance with Housing unmet needs ONLY:

For residents of Abbeville, Aiken, Anderson, Cherokee, Edgefield, Greenville, Greenwood, Laurens, McCormick, Oconee, Orangeburg, Pickens, Saluda, Spartanburg, and Union Counties.

Eligible Housing Recovery Programs: CDBG-DR

Call (844) 410-8560, email contact@scstormrecovery.com, visit SCStormRecovery.com/Helene, or visit your nearest South Carolina Hurricane Helene Housing Recovery Program Office:

Greenville, SC: 147 Commons Way, Greenville 29611

Aiken, SC: 900 Trail Ridge Rd. Suite 200, Aiken 29801

Greenwood, SC: 104 Maxwell Ave. Suite 402, Greenwood 29646

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About SCOR: The South Carolina Office of Resilience (SCOR) is committed to enhancing the state's ability to anticipate, absorb, recover, and thrive when presented with environmental changes and natural hazards by planning and coordinating statewide resilience, long-term disaster recovery, and hazard mitigation. In addition to serving 3,460 homes in our Disaster Recovery Program, SCOR has 86 active flood mitigation projects, including voluntary buyouts, stormwater infrastructure, and plans and studies, across the State. SCOR continues to implement and maintain the Strategic Statewide Resilience and Risk Reduction Plan, which provides a framework to guide investment in projects, programs, and policies to protect the people and property of South Carolina from the damage and destruction of extreme weather events.