The Federal Emergency Management Agency is facing logistical challenges and misinformation in its response to Hurricane Helene.
By Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Maxine Joselow, Clara Ence Morse and Will Oremus, The Washington PostDemocratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris greets people who were impacted by Hurricane Helene in Augusta, Ga., Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, as from left, Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., FEMA deputy direct Erik Hooks and Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson watch.
But the sheer scope of the disaster area, which stretches across six states in the Southeast, has presented an enormous logistical challenge. And as federal officials help state and local agencies respond, they are battling significant misinformation - only underlining and adding to the challenges of the mission that has no immediate end in sight. As of Friday, at least 221 people have died in six states across the Southeast as a result of the storm.
A man makes a call on the wireless system set up at the volunteer fire department in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Pensacola, N.C. Several right-wing influencers have used their large online followings to amplify these claims on X, which has declined to remove these posts or label them as misleading. The trend underscores how election-year politics - combined with lax misinformation policies by major tech platforms - are complicating efforts to keep communities safe.
“They stole the FEMA money, just like they stole it from a bank, so they could give it to their illegal immigrants that they want to have vote for them this season,” Trump said. While FEMA can meet immediate needs, it does face a funding shortfall. On Wednesday, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters that the agency doesn’t have enough money to make it through the hurricane season, which ends in November.
Harris did say in her speech in Augusta, Ga., that FEMA was “providing $750 for folks who need immediate needs being met, such as food, baby formula and the like.” But she then described tens of thousands of additional federal dollars available, and FEMA has since clarified that the $750 represents only one type of federal assistance for hurricane victims.
“It would be very unfortunate if that was the case because not only is that such a small sum, it wouldn’t even really make a difference and then you’d have another group of people who wouldn’t even qualify,” she said.
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