Cooper’s Controversial Departure During Hurricane Helene

North Carolina’s governor, Roy Cooper, a Democrat running for Senate, opted to travel to New York City just as Hurricane Helene was gaining strength and preparing to make landfall. This came at a time when he was expected to spearhead the state’s preparedness efforts. Despite knowing that the storm was forecasted to cause significant flooding in Western North Carolina, he left without informing the lieutenant governor about his plans.

Cooper was set to speak at the NY Times Climate Forward event on September 25, 2024, where he was to discuss North Carolina’s commitment to clean energy and support for Green New Deal initiatives.

During his remarks, he expressed confidence that Kamala Harris would secure a victory in North Carolina, noting the state’s educated populace. He compared the excitement surrounding her campaign to that of Barack Obama’s close win in 2008, although Harris ultimately lost to Donald Trump by a substantial margin in the state.

Cooper has backed Biden administration policies that align with a more aggressive climate agenda, including support for the Inflation Reduction Act and the American Rescue Plan—both of which have been linked to high inflation rates. He also mentioned his commitment to clean energy jobs, referencing the controversial deal with VinFast, a Vietnamese electric vehicle manufacturer, for which he pledged $1 billion of taxpayer funds.

“Climate change is a significant threat to our planet and our communities, but the shift to clean energy is also driving economic growth that benefits American families,” Cooper stated at the event.

While criticizing “denialist” Republicans in New York, Cooper seemed to overlook the impending threat of Hurricane Helene, which was just hours from reaching Florida and Georgia.

On September 24, *The Associated Press* highlighted concerns that the then-Tropical Storm Helene could intensify into a major hurricane as it approached the U.S.

The report noted:

Federal agencies have begun positioning essential supplies like generators, food, and water in preparation for the storm. President Biden declared an emergency in Florida, where Governor Ron DeSantis had also announced a state of emergency for many counties, some of which were advising or mandating evacuations. The storm is expected to be unusually large and fast-moving, potentially leading to widespread impacts far from its center.

On the same day Cooper traveled to New York, his office issued a state of emergency—though they did not provide details to the public until later when Cooper held briefings in Raleigh.

Hurricane Helene’s severe winds and rainfall struck Western North Carolina early on September 27. An after-action report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration described it as the worst natural disaster in the region’s history, with some areas receiving up to 30 inches of rain and facing 107 fatalities.

In the storm’s aftermath, Cooper’s office struggled to provide accurate death toll numbers for weeks. Residents voiced their frustrations, expressing feelings of being overlooked and underreported in the wake of the disaster.

A March 2025 report from *The Washington Post* that criticized the federal recovery efforts brought further attention to Cooper’s shortcomings in storm preparedness and response.

One notable misstep was his failure to appoint a “disaster recovery coordinator,” a move recommended by FEMA. William Ray, the emergency management director appointed by Cooper, acknowledged that they had opted for a different approach, not meeting federal recommendations.

Experts highlighted the need for a disaster response leader, suggesting that such an appointment could have facilitated a more effective response if issues with FEMA arose.

Natalie Simpson, an emergency management scholar at the University at Buffalo, expressed disbelief that the state had not designated a czar for disaster response, which may have resulted in a more coordinated effort. “North Carolina shares the blame if FEMA was slow to act,” she noted.

Finally, Cooper faced additional embarrassment when his successor, Josh Stein, took office and immediately disbanded the disaster recovery office that Cooper had established, starting anew with his own plans.