Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER)

• This was the most common need reported
• 45.7% of households had new or worse symptoms after Hurricane Helene:
  • Anxiety: 34.9%
  • Depressed mood: 24.5%
  • Trouble sleeping: 19.7%
  • Difficulty concentrating: 17.6%
  • Feeling alone/isolated: 9.4%
• Other issues included:
  • Increased alcohol/drug use: 8.2%
  • Feeling numb: 6.2%
• Nearly 18% (17.6%) of households needed help for behavioral health concerns but did not get it

• 7.9% of households had trouble getting health care after Hurricane Helene
• Main reasons:
  • Clinic closed or health care providers not available: 27.3%
  • Insurance problems: 24.7%
  • Money/cost: 15.2%
  • No transportation: 8.3%
  • No child care: 3%
  • No cellphone/internet access: 3%

• 38% of households evacuated some or all household members
• Reasons households said they did not evacuate:
  • Did not need to evacuate: 33.9%
  • Did not believe it was necessary: 24.3%
  • Did not receive evacuation alerts or warnings: 8.5%
  • Roads blocked or damaged: 7%
  • Concern about leaving property: 6.1%
  • Concern about leaving pets: 5.5%

• 55.9% of households reported some home damage from Helene
• Eight months after the hurricane:
  • Nearly one-third (30.8%) of homes were repaired
  • 12.4% were somewhat repaired
  • 9.5% were not repaired at all
• Debris removal was still a problem eight months after the hurricane:
  • 31.5% of households had no debris removed
  • 8.8% of households had only some debris removed

• 41.1% of households received assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
• 16.7% tried but were not successful
• Other aid sources received by households included:
  • Nonprofit organizations: 19.6%
  • Church groups: 19.5%
  • State or local government: 9.0%
  • Other sources: 4.2%

Several ongoing concerns about environmental exposures were reported.

• Household Water Quality:
  • 21.3% did not feel their source of tap water was safe at the time of the survey
  • Surveyed households used more bottled water and less municipal water even though this service was fully restored
• Private Well Testing:
  • 76 households used a private or shared well as their main source of drinking water before Hurricane Helene
  • Only one reported their well had flooded immediately after the hurricane, and it was tested and treated
  • Households with private wells had broad interest in well testing kits
• Mold:
  • 14.3% saw mold or smelled musty odors in their home after the hurricane
  • Of those, 61.5% still had mold or odors eight months later (June 2025)
  • Barriers to mold remediation included cost and unresponsive landlords for renters