MARSHALL, N.C. — North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein announced Thursday that North Carolina is awarding nearly $6 million in grants to help protect communities from future flooding through the Department of Environmental Quality's Flood Resiliency Blueprint program.

The funding will support 11 projects across five river basins, including the French Broad, Cape Fear, Neuse, Tar Pamlico, and Lumber rivers. The grants will help local governments restore river channels, increase floodplain water storage, and plant forested stream banks.

Stein made the announcement in Marshall, standing beside the French Broad River, which crested at nearly 25 feet during Hurricane Helene a year ago, submerging bridges and devastating the town.

"We know that there will be floods in the future, so we're making sma

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