Trump cuts leave hurricane-hit North Carolina town’s rebuilding plans adrift – in pictures

Lake Lure, a popular retreat in the west of North Carolina, is closed as cleanup and recovery operations continue. Hurricane Helene caused an estimated $60bn in damage in western North Carolina and killed 250 people across seven states, making it the deadliest hurricane to hit the US mainland since Katrina in 2005 left nearly 1,400 people dead

James Abel, owner of Dogwood RV Park, talks with resident Kim McLaren, who lost her Airstream trailer during Hurricane Helene, as Abel works to rebuild his business

Amish volunteers working with Spokes of Hope, a faith-based disaster relief charity, share a whoopie pie during a lunch break

Amish volunteers load their tools into a school bus at the end of the day

Amish volunteers from Pennsylvania paint the interior of a cabin at Dogwood RV Park

Amish volunteers from Pennsylvania paint the interior of a cabin at Dogwood RV Park

Amish volunteers working with Spokes of Hope cheer as they lift a heavy bag of debris on to a trailer

Homes and businesses destroyed by flooding from Hurricane Helene remain in disrepair along the altered course of the Broad River in Bat Cave, about five miles upriver from Lake Lure

The Pine Gables cabins at Lake Lure are mostly vacant after 1m cubic yards of debris were deposited in the lake by Helene, closing the town’s main attraction for the summer

Lake Lure dam

Replacing the century-old dam, which held during Hurricane Helene, is part of the resort town’s bid for federal funding to pay for an ambitious rebuilding plan

Because the dam held, Lake Lure and communities downstream escaped the catastrophe that befell the neighbouring town of Chimney Rock, where the main street was largely wiped out. ‘This lake saved a lot of people, because the flood that came down through the county, this lake caught,’ said Michael Hager, a lobbyist for Lake Lure and the former Republican majority leader in the North Carolina house of representatives

Amish volunteers from Pennsylvania rebuild a business’s roof in downtown Chimney Rock

The dam is just one of several big-ticket items on Lake Lure’s rebuilding list. The town wants to move a wastewater treatment plant out of a flood zone at a projected cost of $35m, and to replace its century-old sewage system at the bottom of the lake, which could cost $100m

Robin and Jim Proctor, the owners of Pine Gables Cabins, sit outside Lured Market & Grill during its trivia night. Local businesses have struggled to stay afloat with the town’s main attraction closed since Helene devastated the region

Amish volunteers working with Spokes of Hope help rebuild a business in Chimney Rock that was damaged by Helene

Amish volunteers walk down a temporary road in Chimney Rock. Donald Trump said last week that he plans to start phasing out Fema and distribute disaster relief from the White House. His administration has taken an axe to some of the agency’s hazard mitigation programmes, despite research showing such investment can save money and lives