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Environment & Climate

North Carolina mobile home park repopulated after fatal flood exposes gaps in federal buyout programs

Federal disaster buyout policies offer little incentive for landlords to sell flood-prone land, allowing vulnerable parcels to be reoccupied.

Updated Sep 2, 2026 · 10:18 UTC1 reports

The short version

  • A mobile home park near Clyde, North Carolina, has been reoccupied by new tenants and campers despite repeated major floods, including Hurricane Helene in September 2024.
  • Federal and state hazard mitigation buyout programs are primarily tailored to traditional real estate, creating structural barriers that leave mobile home park land unprotected.
  • Local emergency responders warn that future flooding remains inevitable, while neither the county nor the state maintains a mandatory list of high-risk properties targeted for mitigation.

Key facts

  • Flooding from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 swept a mobile home into the Pigeon River at the Hyder Mountain Road park, killing resident Sandra Rogers and three dogs.[ProPublica]
  • The Hyder Mountain Road property has flooded four times across 20 years, including events during Hurricane Frances and Hurricane Ivan in 2004, Tropical Storm Fred in 2021, and Hurricane Helene in 2024.[ProPublica]
  • Federal Emergency Management Agency buyout programs treat mobile homes as personal property rather than real estate, meaning park owners cannot collect compensation for lost rent or the value of tenant trailers.[ProPublica]
  • Individual mobile home residents cannot initiate federal buyouts independently because they typically rent rather than own the underlying parcels.[ProPublica]
  • North Carolina Emergency Management and Haywood County officials stated that buyout participation is entirely voluntary for property owners and local governments, with no specific state guidance dedicated to mobile home parks.[ProPublica]

What remains uncertain

  • It remains unclear whether North Carolina's Renew NC recovery program or local officials will enact rules to prevent new occupancy on repeatedly flooded rental plots.[ProPublica]

Sources