Helene was the most economically damaging natural disaster to ever hit North Carolina, in addition to the deadliest, Gov. Roy Cooper said Wednesday as he pressed lawmakers to approve a new, $3.9 billion relief package.

The new damage estimate — $53 billion, according to the North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management — is triple the damage incurred by Hurricane Florence in 2018.

Cooper made his announcement a day before state lawmakers are set to return to Raleigh for a brief session Thursday, when they’re expected to debate another disaster relief bill. Cooper detailed his $3.9 billion recommendation in a 99-page budget document sent to reporters and legislative leaders. Lawmakers are expected to present their own relief plan, which may or may not take into account Cooper’s proposal.

The federal government is also expected to spend billions of dollars on Helene aid — largely to rebuild homes and roads, plus cover other costs such as aid for farmers and emergency loans for small businesses, to keep local economies from collapsing in the aftermath of the storm. Insurance companies will also likely pay out some claims, but more than 90% of homes in the area lacked flood insurance.

There are costs that neither insurance companies nor the federal government will cover, Cooper said Wednesday, adding that the $3.9 billion he’s asking lawmakers to spend is “a down payment on western North Carolina's future.”

Cooper has previously faced criticism for the state and federal governments’ slow process helping people get their homes rebuilt or repaired after Hurricanes Florence and Matthew. A large chunk of the spending Cooper proposed Wednesday is aimed at getting the rebuilding process started sooner by giving people money that’s not tied to the federal government’s more cumbersome processes, he said.

“This proposal, built on the assessment of damage sustained and lessons learned from past storms, would give western North Carolina a jump start on recovery,” Cooper said.

In a bipartisan effort earlier this month, the Republican-led state legislature swiftly and unanimously passed a $273 million disaster relief bill that Cooper, a Democrat, signed into law. Leaders in both political parties said multiple times that was only a first step, and that the legislature would approve more aid once the state had a better grasp on the scope of the damage and where the biggest needs have arisen.

It remains to be seen, however, if the spirit of bipartisanship that guided the original disaster relief effort still exists two weeks later — especially now that more money is at stake.

At the same time Cooper was unveiling his disaster relief request, Senate leader Phil Berger’s office issued a statement blasting Cooper for “mismanagement and financial carelessness” during the state’s disaster recovery efforts after Florence and Matthew.

A spokeswoman for Berger declined to comment on Cooper’s $3.9 billion proposal for Helene soon after it was publicly announced Wednesday, saying lawmakers received a copy on Tuesday and were still reviewing it.

A spokeswoman for House Speaker Tim Moore didn’t respond to a request for comment on Cooper’s proposal but did issue a statement calling on the federal government to spend more on disaster recovery in the Southeast following this year’s multiple strong storms.

Cooper’s budget director Kristin Walker said that of the $53.6 billion in estimated damages in North Carolina, the state anticipates that the federal government will cover about $13.6 billion and insurance or other private sector payments might total about $6.3 billion. That leaves $33.8 billion in losses still unaccounted for.

Cooper’s $3.9 billion suggestion would drop the total amount unfunded to just under $30 billion, if the state’s estimates on expected payments from insurance and the federal government are correct. Walker said that, while it’s possible that the exact numbers will change in the future, “I don’t think anyone anticipates that anywhere near the full $53 billion would be covered.”

Some of the more notable pieces of Cooper’s request include:

$475 million for business loans.

$250 million for grants to farmers to cover lost crops.

$325 million to start rebuilding homes before federal housing aid is approved; after Florence the federal process took about two years to begin.

$50 million for incentives for developers to offer more affordable housing when rebuilding communities.

$102 million for repairs at UNC System campuses, local community colleges and other state government buildings in the affected counties.

$43 million for increased mental health services.

$45 million for local food banks.

Hundreds of millions of dollars more would also go to local communities, with the state paying for costs that are normally the responsibility of city or county governments: Building new parks and schools, repairing government buildings, laying new water and sewer pipes and more.

A total of $50 million is proposed to be paid directly to local governments, to help them make up for expected drops in their own local tax revenues in the months to come. And another $50 million would be spent on rebuilding or repairing roads and bridges that are privately owned, such as by homeowners associations.