“I guess if there’s any one thing we’re trying to let people know is that we’re not leaving,” said David Mace, a media specialist with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Now that the deadline to register for federal disaster-recovery assistance has passed, FEMA has plenty of work to do in eastern North Carolina, Mace said. “We’re not leaving. You can still get help. If you’ve got a case already, if you’re registered with us, and you’re working through your case, you can get information about it anytime.” Storm victims who are registered with FEMA should call 1-800-621-3362, Mace said. “That’s a good number to call, too, if you’ve got a flood insurance claim and are working through you’re flood insurance claim,” he said.

As of Thursday, 692 households in Beaufort County had registered for recovery assistance, with $521,022 being approved, Mace said. Of those 692 registered households, 220 of them were approved for assistance, he noted. Across the state, 81,767 registrations for recovery assistance were made, with $91.76 million approved for distribution to those in need, Mace said.

Although registration ended Jan. 23, there are 14 FEMA inspectors who remain in the field handling assessments for last-minute registrations, Mace noted. Out of slightly more than 61,000 structures, only 77 remain to be inspected as of Thursday, he said.

“Right now the biggest focus is on dealing with people who are out of their homes and in shelters. Obviously, the focus is switching from individuals and families, getting them on their feet and getting them started on their recovery, to working with the municipalities, the counties and the state on rebuilding the damaged infrastructure. We’ll be here for a while doing that. It takes a while to work through,” Mace said.

Washington officials estimate the city’s expenses related to Hurricane Matthew at $377,801.64, and it wants the federal government and state government to reimburse it for eligible expenses. The city’s nearly $378,000 in storm-related expenditures include overtime salaries, fuel, food, safety gear such as boots, debris removal and equipment repair. Adjustments will be made as expenditures and reimbursement claims are finalized, according to a city document.

The city would be reimbursed at 75 percent of expenditures eligible for reimbursement, Mace said. So, if the city had $1 million in eligible expenditures, it would receive $750,000 in reimbursement, he said.

FEMA also is focusing on moving storm victims out of hotels and other temporary housing into permanent housing, Mace said.

“One of the biggest issues we’re dealing with right now is housing for people in some of the more hard hit areas where there’s not a lot of rental housing available for them. Some of them are still in hotels. That’s something we’re working with them, trying to find them a place to live while they figure out what their next steps are. Are they going to be rebuilding, getting a buyout, elevating their homes — those kinds of things,” Mace said. “Right now, a lot of our efforts are with the people in the transitional sheltering program.”