Hurricane preparedness for businesses: what Charlotte learned from Helene

Takeaways

• When Helene hit Charlotte on September 27, 2024, about 78,000 Duke Energy customers in Mecklenburg County were without power at 8 a.m., WFAE reported.
• The National Weather Service recorded a 57-knot gust, about 66 mph, at Charlotte Douglas International Airport during Helene in September 2024.
• Helene flooding along and below Mountain Island Lake damaged or destroyed at least 89 Mecklenburg County homes, with damage estimated at $26 million, the National Weather Service reported.
• A National Flood Insurance Program policy usually takes effect 30 days after purchase and does not pay for business interruption losses, according to FEMA’s FloodSmart site.
• Insurers reported 1,447 North Carolina Helene business interruption claims and $327.2 million in incurred losses as of September 12, 2025, in the N.C. Department of Insurance’s final data call.

This guide is for Charlotte-area owners and managers who want a storm plan built on what Helene did here. Hurricane preparedness for businesses is the set of plans, insurance and backups that keep a company paying staff and serving customers when a storm cuts power, floods property or closes roads. Helene’s lesson for Charlotte was uneven damage: Duke Energy had power back for nearly all customers outside the mountains and the S.C. Upstate within two days, while flooding along the Catawba River near Mountain Island Lake did heavy, concentrated damage. The guide covers flood risk, insurance gaps, disaster loans, backup power and staff communication.

What did Helene do to Charlotte businesses?

Helene hit Charlotte businesses mainly through wind, falling trees and power outages on Friday, September 27, 2024. The National Weather Service office in Greenville-Spartanburg logged a sustained wind of 30 knots and a gust of 57 knots (about 66 mph) at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, according to its post-storm report. At 8 a.m. that Friday, Duke Energy counted about 78,000 customers without power in Mecklenburg County, more than 21,000 in Gaston County, almost 13,000 in Cabarrus County and 11,000 in Union County, WFAE reported.

Public services shut down, too. Mecklenburg County offices and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library closed that Friday, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools held an asynchronous remote learning day, so working parents had children at home. One person died in west Charlotte when a tree fell on a house on Brookway Drive. Duke Energy said in a September 30, 2024 update that, as of Sunday, September 29, service was back for nearly all customers outside the South Carolina Upstate and the North Carolina mountains who could receive power.

Flooding along the Catawba River

Flooding did the most concentrated damage in Mecklenburg County. The NWS impact summary describes “devastating flooding” along and downstream of Mountain Island Lake from Catawba River runoff: at least 89 homes damaged or destroyed, at least 100 residents evacuated and an estimated $26 million in damage. Downstream, Mount Holly in Gaston County flooded, and a Catawba River gauge about 5 miles northeast of Rock Hill reached a record crest of 24.52 feet.

Charlotte got off lightly by comparison. The NWS post-storm report counts 101 direct deaths across the Greenville-Spartanburg office’s coverage area in the western Carolinas and northeast Georgia, and Duke Energy still had about 346,000 customers out in the North Carolina mountains and about 443,000 in the South Carolina Upstate on September 30. Our read: for many Charlotte companies, the longer test came through suppliers, customers and employees with ties to the mountains.

Is your Charlotte business property in a flood zone?

Your Charlotte business property’s flood zone shows up on Mecklenburg County’s 3D Interactive Floodzone Map, which you search by address; Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services also takes questions at 704-432-RAIN. The city’s Flooding and Maps page explains that Storm Water Services partners with FEMA to map flood risk and publishes two floodplains. The FEMA floodplain shows where flooding is likely now, and the Community floodplain shows where flooding is likely in the future as land upstream develops.

Mecklenburg County has almost 20,000 acres of regulatory floodplain, and more than 20,000 parcels touch it, the city says. A spot outside those lines is not a guarantee: nearly 30% of flood insurance claims come from properties outside high-risk flood areas, according to the N.C. Department of Insurance. During a storm, North Carolina’s FIMAN network posts real-time rain and river gauge data, flood maps and alerts, which helps if your site sits near the Catawba River or another stream.

Does business insurance cover hurricane flooding?

Business insurance does not cover hurricane flooding in most standard policies. The N.C. Department of Insurance’s flood insurance FAQ says the standard commercial property policy does not cover water damage due to flood, though some carriers add limited flood coverage by endorsement. The same FAQ says business income coverage applies only to a covered cause of loss, so lost income from a flood is covered only if the policy covers flood.

The National Flood Insurance Program fills part of that gap. NFIP commercial coverage is up to $500,000 for the building and up to $500,000 for contents, and a policy generally takes effect 30 days after purchase, according to FloodSmart. The NFIP does not cover financial losses from business interruption. The 30-day wait has exceptions; for example, there is no wait when you buy coverage while making, increasing, extending or renewing a mortgage. This guide is general information, not legal advice; check your situation with an attorney.

What Helene claims show

Helene claims data shows how often business coverage came into play. The N.C. Department of Insurance’s final Helene data call report gave these statewide figures for all insurers as of September 12, 2025:

Line of coverage	N.C. policies in force	Helene claims reported	Incurred losses
Commercial property	345,020	7,988	$663.7 million
Business interruption	40,591	1,447	$327.2 million
Private flood	32,820	684	$579.9 million

Of 1,327 closed business interruption claims in that report, 556 closed without payment; of 7,039 closed commercial property claims, 3,135 closed without payment. Read your policy’s covered causes of loss and its business income terms before a storm, while you can still add an endorsement or an NFIP policy.

Can SBA disaster loans still help with Helene losses?

SBA disaster loans are no longer open to new Helene applicants in North Carolina: the economic injury deadline was June 30, 2025, according to the SBA’s May 30, 2025 deadline reminder, and a March 1, 2025 SBA release set the final physical damage deadline at April 27, 2025. FEMA’s major disaster declaration for North Carolina, DR-4827, was issued September 28, 2024, and FEMA’s declarations data lists Mecklenburg among 39 counties designated for individual and public assistance.

By October 7, 2024, Mecklenburg businesses could apply for both physical damage loans and economic injury disaster loans, while Cabarrus, Iredell and Union counties qualified for economic injury loans only, per an SBA release that day. The SBA ran a disaster loan outreach center at its district office, 6302 Fairview Road in Charlotte. Business physical disaster loans went up to $2 million at rates as low as 4% for small businesses, with terms up to 30 years and no payments for 12 months after the first disbursement; an April 17, 2026 SBA release extended the interest-free period on North Carolina businesses’ Helene loans to 18 months.

Disaster loans are a backstop with conditions. FEMA’s FloodSmart eligibility page notes that most flood events do not get a presidential disaster declaration, that disaster aid usually comes as loans to be repaid, and that a property that received federal disaster assistance must carry flood insurance to qualify again.

How should a business run backup power safely?

Backup power from a portable generator belongs outdoors, never inside a building or garage, because carbon monoxide kills people after storms. The National Weather Service’s after-the-storm guidance calls carbon monoxide poisoning one of the leading causes of death after storms in areas with power outages and says never to use a portable generator inside a home or garage. Duke Energy’s September 30, 2024 Helene update pointed customers to its outage map at duke-energy.com/outages and generator safety tips at duke-energy.com/outages/generators.

North Carolina Emergency Management’s ReadyNC business checklist covers the rest of an outage plan. Before the next storm, work through these steps from that list:

• Back up electronic files to a cloud-based server or copy them to a USB flash drive.
• Collect contact information for your utility providers so you can report outages quickly.
• Take pictures of inventory before the storm arrives.
• Review incoming and outgoing shipments, and make alternative arrangements if a route or supplier goes down.
• If you lease, review the lease to confirm the building owner carries adequate coverage.

What should a staff communication plan include?

A staff communication plan should include current contact information for every employee, so managers can check on safety and share the status of operations; ReadyNC’s business checklist includes that step. ReadyNC also suggests regular out-of-office updates on business phones and email so staff and customers know whether you are open. Wireless Emergency Alerts reach phones in the affected area with no app or subscription, as long as emergency alerts are turned on in the phone’s settings, according to ReadyNC’s emergency alerts page.

The U.S. Small Business Administration’s emergency planning guide lays out three steps: assess your risk, create a plan and practice the plan with your staff. For recovery, the SBA says a business continuity plan should identify and document critical business functions, organize a continuity team and evaluate recovery strategies. Helene arrived on a CMS remote learning day, so build your plan for employees who are home with children or dealing with storm damage of their own.

Good to know

The Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30, according to the National Weather Service, so the 2026 season ends November 30, 2026. Because NFIP policies usually take 30 days to start, a policy bought on November 13, 2026, would take effect around December 13, 2026. The SBA’s Helene loan programs for North Carolina are closed. The NCDOI claims figures above are as of September 12, 2025, and the facts in this guide were checked November 13, 2026.

Last updated November 13, 2026.

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