TARBORO - Thousands of displaced Louisiana families are still waiting for government assistance to return home two months after the historically catastrophic deluge from a no-name storm system. An equally stressful housing crunch could await victims of Hurricane Matthew, which just dealt a deadly and destructive blow to the East Coast.

If August's floods in south Louisiana are any guide, the road to recovery could test the patience of many people driven from their homes along Mathew's path from Florida to North Carolina.

More than 14,000 people in hard-hit North Carolina already have applied for federal disaster assistance, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency already has distributed $2.6 million in aid to the state's Matthew survivors.

But many more are still trying to get help.