GEOFF BENNETT: It's been more than five months since Hurricane Helene devastated several states across the Southeast.

And, in North Carolina, where Helene killed more than 100 people and caused nearly $60 billion in damage, many of the hardest-hit residents have grown increasingly frustrated with FEMA, a federal agency that's also been in the crosshairs of President Trump.

The president is also expected to sign an executive order that could reshape how disaster relief is administered by placing more responsibilities on states, rather than the federal government.

Here's William Brangham.

SAM SAUNDERS, Black Mountain, North Carolina, Resident: This is part of the roof from my house.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: In Black Mountain, North Carolina, Sam Saunders returns to the scattered remains of his home.

SAM SAUNDERS: And right in front of us, that's more of my house.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: And the memory of what Hurricane Helene did that early morning back in September is still fresh in his mind.

SAM SAUNDERS: I was asleep.

My bed was right about here.

And I was awakened by the sound and the vibration of the house being hit from behind, the mudslide coming down right behind the house, knocked me out of bed.

And the entire house with me in it went down the mountainside here.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Saunders broke 18 bones, including 11 ribs, and punctured both of his lungs.

It would take about 30 hours before he was evacuated and flown to a hospital, where he spent the next several weeks.

SAM SAUNDERS: I built this with my own hands 28 years ago, but, anyway, we will start over.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: But starting over hasn't been easy.

Like many of his neighbors, he didn't have flood insurance, so, within a few days of the storm, Saunders says his sister began reaching out to FEMA to help him apply for assistance.

SAM SAUNDERS: Basically, I went four months without getting one phone call returned from FEMA.

And they said, who are you?

Your application was withdrawn.

What do you mean my application was withdrawn?

Well, it shows here that you withdrew your application.

I said I didn't withdraw my application.

DEE DEE BUCKNER, Marshall, North Carolina, Resident: Who would ever thought that there would be a hurricane in the mountains of Western North Carolina?

I mean, who would ever thought that?

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Dee Dee Buckner's home in,Marshall, North Carolina, was also inundated with floodwater and plastered with mud.

The storm destroyed almost everything her family owned.

While they did have flood insurance, she says the payment they received went to their bank just to cover their mortgage.

DEE DEE BUCKNER: The water in this room was about up to right here on this window.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: She says she applied to FEMA for help and within a few days got a one-time $750 payment for immediate needs and later her family received another $3,000.

DEE DEE BUCKNER: Well, I thought FEMA was going to step in and help us.

I mean, I thought they were going to offer a shelter.

I mean, listen we had nowhere to live.

They did not even give us motel vouchers.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Helene damaged more than 70,000 homes in North Carolina.

And you hear frustrations towards FEMA from many in this sprawling rural stretch of the state.

Residents complain of a bewildering thicket of red tape just to get help.

DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: FEMA has turned out to be a disaster.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: FEMA has also been a frequent target of President Trump, who has pushed to reform or even eliminate the agency.

DONALD TRUMP: I'd like to see the states take care of disasters.

Let the state take care of the tornadoes and the hurricanes and all of the other things that happen.

ANNA STEARNS, Attorney: There was certainly an expectation among people in this community that FEMA assistance would do more.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Anna Stearns is a local lawyer in Black Mountain, North Carolina, who's been helping residents apply for FEMA assistance.

While she's heard plenty of anger toward FEMA, she says, because Helene delivered such a devastating blow to the region, it was incredibly difficult to reach people in need.

ANNA STEARNS: We had 2,000 landslides in Western North Carolina.

We were cut off by the interstate on all sides.

We had no rail.

For a short time, we had no access to even our airport because there were no communications.

Given the challenges that they were facing, I think FEMA's done a pretty good job.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Stearns says, sure, there are valid criticisms of FEMA, but she argues individual states cannot, on their own, cover the costs or the manpower needed to handle the growing toll from natural disasters.

ANNA STEARNS: North Carolina is not equipped to fund that recovery effort.

And we certainly don't have the ability to mobilize personnel to respond to a disaster of this magnitude the way that the federal government does.

BECKY LOFTIS, Marion, North Carolina, Resident: People were without Internet and power for days, weeks, some people even months without power and Internet, so it was almost impossible to go online and apply.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Becky Loftis and her husband had been away on vacation during Hurricane Helene.

When they returned home to the town of Marion, they found a tree had torn through their roof, causing what she says is more than $120,000 worth of damage.

Insurance covered her upstairs and roof, but none of the flood damage.

She applied for FEMA assistance and received $750 in hotel vouchers and has been fighting with FEMA ever since for more.

BECKY LOFTIS: Personally, I don't think FEMA needs to be abolished.

I think there are some good things that come from FEMA, but I think, as far as helping the citizens after a disaster, after everything is -- the storm is over and we're trying to get back into our normal lives, I think that's where we need some top-down reorganization.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: According to FEMA, the agency has helped more than 150,000 families in North Carolina.

And a spokesperson told the "News Hour" that over $800 million has been approved to support recovery efforts there, $167 million of which has come since President Trump took office.

Anna Stearns says some of the frustration towards FEMA comes because it's the main public face of disaster response.

Plus, she says, much of the agency's work is invisible.

ANNA STEARNS: Most people do not know what FEMA does to support the local government effort to respond to the disaster.

So, the laundry and shower stations, the debris removal, the road repair, the water system repairs, all of those things get reimbursed most of the time to the local government through FEMA.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Back in Marshall, North Carolina, Dee Dee Buckner and her family are now living in a donated R.V.

A local nonprofit has stepped in to help rebuild their home, and her anger towards FEMA has only grown with time.

DEE DEE BUCKNER: FEMA, that is the biggest joke.

I wish that President Trump would redo the whole thing to where everybody gets treated fairly.

There are some of us that need the assistance from FEMA that have gotten nothing.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: As for Sam Saunders, after months of waiting, FEMA accepted his application, and, last month, he moved into a trailer the agency provided.

It also gave him $56,000 for his losses.

SAM SAUNDERS: My opinion, and maybe I'm just different, is, at least it's something.

They don't have to give me anything, but if I'm getting that toward purchasing a new home as a down payment or whatever, I'm grateful.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: For the "PBS News Hour," I'm William Brangham.