Traditionally states, and not the federal government, have been responsible for hashing out the details of assessing damage, processing claims and distributing funding in the wake of national disasters, a system intended to give local decision makers control over how their communities are rebuilt.

But states and cities, unaccustomed to dealing with the complex logistical and oversight issues of administering programs geared at fast-tracking billions in capital projects, are now finding themselves overwhelmed by the demands, even though such challenges have been well-documented since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Many of the areas most prone to repeated hurricanes, especially Louisiana, Texas, Puerto Rico, and now North Carolina, have all experienced similar problems as they adjust to a new normal in which disaster agencies are permanently mobilized — and federal disaster money is now one of the single biggest sources of government money used to help rehabilitate or preserve low-income housing.

“We are really good at disaster recovery programs, hazard mitigation, helping individual people who are in trouble, but not at this kind of thing,” said the state’s emergency management director, Michael A. Sprayberry, who contends that the lessons learned under Matthew will help the state more efficiently distribute post-Florence disaster funding. “We have had to hire and stand up a completely new staff — roughly 50, 60 new people — so this is a whole new ballgame.”

It took more than 10 months to comply with federally mandated environmental reviews and other red tape, Mr. Sprayberry said, which is contributing to the frustration.

“There will be a news release from HUD saying that the state is going to be receiving funding, which right then sort of automatically raises the level of expectations,” he added.