In August of 2011, Hurricane Irene slowly swept across eastern North Carolina, its sheer size, staying power and historic floodwaters devastating parts of eastern Beaufort County.

There are homeowners who have never fully recovered. Perhaps they had no insurance; maybe coverage paid for a roof, but not an eroding foundation; or maybe it’s only a matter of time before a flood-prone home is inundated again, because there are no funds to raise it.

These are the people that Lisa Respess, Beaufort County Emergency Management technician, is looking for: those who still have unmet needs, who somehow didn’t get the assistance they needed to fix the damage done by Hurricane Irene. She’s looking for them because they could get the assistance through $1 billion the federal government has set aside for disaster recovery.

“Most of this population is elderly — senior citizens in this county who own their house but had no flood insurance and are ‘making do,’ and they shouldn’t have to be,” Respess said. “We’re trying to flush these people out of the bushes in Beaufort County. I know that there are people out there that still need help.”

She’s looking for at least 20 property owners who didn’t have enough insurance to repair damages, and who also didn’t qualify for grants after Hurricane Irene.

But they could get help from the newly announced Community Development Block Grant-National Disaster Recovery grant program. It’s a nationwide competition — the National Disaster Resilience Competition — for funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, in conjunction with the Rockefeller Foundation.

“For North Carolina, HUD and the Rockefeller Foundation have provided guidance strongly suggesting that specified areas in 11 coastal and sound communities impacted by the April 2011 tornadoes and Hurricane Irene are the only areas that may ultimately qualify for any potential future awards. This includes Beaufort County,” said Nicholas Burk, manager for hazard mitigation grants with the North Carolina Department of Public Safety’s emergency management division.

First, on behalf of coastal and inland counties affected, North Carolina Emergency Management has to make its case to HUD as to whether state residents actually need assistance and if they can be helped through targeted programming.

To do so, NCEM representatives need to talk to those Beaufort County residents who still have unmet needs, Respess said.

This week, two meetings are scheduled to put those applying for the grant in touch with those with lingering needs. The first is 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Sidney Volunteer Fire Department. The second is 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Aurora Community Building.

“If your home received damages that you have been unable to repair because you received inadequate assistance or no assistance, please join us for this informational meeting,” Respess said.

Burk said, should NCEM be successful in its bid, the type of projects they’d be looking for could be in the range of a buyout program, elevation of past-flooded homes, tearing a house down and rebuilding to code, or smaller jobs like roof and foundation repair.

“The emphasis is really on residents … We’re looking at residents that fell through the cracks after Irene,” Burk said. “Anybody who was impacted by Hurricane Irene and is still looking to have their house raised and hasn’t been able to, (who has) issues with their house that need to be repaired and hasn’t been able to get them repaired — come listen,” Burk said.

For more information about the Tuesday and Wednesday meetings, call Lisa Respess at 252-946-2046. The Aurora Community Center is located on Pearl Street in Aurora; Sidney Volunteer Fire Department is located at 6755 N. Savannah Road, Belhaven.