Tag: natural disasters

Biden-Harris admin’s disaster loan program tapped out after hurricanes

The Biden-Harris administration’s loan program for disaster survivors is out of money, the White House announced Tuesday. Congress must approve more funding for the agency but it is on break until after the presidential and Congressional elections of Nov. 5, Politico reported.

Without more funding, the Small Business Administration (SBA) can’t offer assistance to people who saw their homes and businesses destroyed by Hurricane Helene and Milton. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) says he has no plans on recalling Congress prior to Nov. 12 and argued that states need more time to assess the full extent of their required assistance from both hurricanes. Johnson responded to the need to top up the fund by saying “there’s no question these devastating back-to-back storms have stressed the SBA funding program.”

“But the Biden-Harris Administration has the necessary disaster funding right now to address the immediate needs of American people in these hurricane-affected areas,” the speaker continued. “Congress is tracking this situation closely, and when members return in just a few short weeks, the administration should have an accurate assessment of the actual dollar amount needed and there will be strong bipartisan support to provide the necessary funding.”

Without a total recall, Congress could pass an emergency funding bill during their “pro forma” sessions but it would only take one representative to stop the process without asking for a roll-call vote. Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) has put forward a bill to provide the SBA with another $8 billion for disaster loans, arguing that it was irresponsible to not plan ahead for hurricane season.

President Joe Biden said in a statement Tuesday that because Johnson has promised to get around to replenishing funding when Congress returns, Americans should still keep applying for loans.

Keep reading

FEMA Says It Won’t Help in North Carolina Because It Feels Threatened By Locals.

The Biden-Harris Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) says it has temporarily suspended certain Hurricane Helene relief operations in several North Carolina communities due to perceived threats against federal aid workers. According to FEMA, federal disaster relief operations were halted in Rutherford County after the agency received reports from the National Guard that an “armed militia” was allegedly threatening relief workers.

“For the safety of our dedicated staff and the disaster survivors we are helping, FEMA has made some operational adjustments,” an agency spokesman said in a statement on Monday. They added: “Disaster Recovery Centers will continue to be open as scheduled, survivors continue to register for assistance, and we continue to help the people of North Carolina with their recovery.”

In addition to suspending operations in Rutherford County, several other localities near the North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee border claim they had to halt relief work due to threats from locals. According to Ashe County Sheriff Phil Howell, several relief centers where victims of Hurricane Helene could apply in person for assistance were closed “due to threats occurring in some counties.” No specific details regarding the type or seriousness of the “threats” were provided. Sheriff Howell stressed that residents impacted by the storm should “stay calm and steady during our recovery, help folks, and please don’t stir the pot.”

Keep reading

Private helicopters deliver more than 500,000 pounds of aid, supplies to western North Carolina

A volunteer group called Savage Operations Center just delivered over 500,000 pounds of supplies to the devastated areas of western North Carolina via a fleet of private helicopters.

Organized by Adam Smith, the Savage Operations Center is utilizing dozens of private helicopters to deliver much-needed aid to the thousands of people who are still trapped in the Appalachian Mountains following Hurricane Helene.

“The people of Swannanoa, Bat Cave, and Chimney Rock are going to be here, and they’ll still be rebuilding their lives and trying to rebuild their homes and trying to figure out what’s next,” Smith commented.

“There’s homes that are washed out; people have lost their lives. There’s a lot of people left with nothing. There’s a lot of displaced people. The big challenge now, moving forward: It’s not so much the rescue but it’s how do we find a place for the displaced families?”

Keep reading

Man accused of threatening FEMA workers in western North Carolina speaks out

Recovery efforts in western North Carolina are being disrupted by safety concerns following threats against federal responders, including FEMA workers. While local officials confirm that no threats originated in some counties, FEMA has made operational changes across the region out of caution.

FEMA teams continue to help residents register for disaster assistance, but some personnel have been moved to secure locations rather than conducting door-to-door outreach. This change follows the recent arrest of William Jacob Parsons, 44, of Bostic, who was charged with making threats against FEMA employees in the Lake Lure and Chimney Rock areas. Deputies found Parsons armed with a handgun and a rifle.

The threats came after Parsons posted a message on Facebook calling for people to “overtake” the FEMA site in Lake Lure based on what he says were social media reports that FEMA was withholding supplies from hurricane survivors.

“We the people are sick and tired of the BS. We the people are seeking volunteers to join us and overtake the FEMA site in Lake Lure and send the products up the mountains this Saturday. We the people are done playing games. It’s time to show who we are and what we believe. They want to screw our citizens. Now, we return the favor,” Parsons said.

When asked about his post, Parsons explained that he believed FEMA was failing to help residents in need.

“I viewed it as if our people are sitting here on American soil, and they’re refusing to aid our people,” he said. “So we were going to go up there and forcefully remove that fence.”

Upon arriving at Lake Lure, however, Parsons said he realized the situation was different than he had imagined.

Keep reading

Biden-Harris regime has “better things to do” than help victims of Helene, the deadliest hurricane since Katrina

As Hurricane Milton has just been downgraded into a post-tropical cyclone and left at least 10 people killed and three million people in the dark as of press time, desperate victims of Hurricane Helene are still waiting for the Biden-Harris administration’s financially depleted Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to realize that they need its help.

Americans from Florida to North Carolina continue to deal with the devastating consequences of Helene, which is considered the deadliest hurricane to hit the U.S. since Katrina. Unlike Hurricane Katrina, which received non-stop coverage on cable news for weeks, with primetime anchors like Anderson Cooper visiting on location covering stories of human tragedy and government incompetence, Helene’s aftermath has received far less coverage.

According to analysts, news about the horrifying damage of Helene has just proliferated on social media. What makes it worse is that there was a lack of government assistance and private efforts from private individuals were more evident.

An account on X even exposed FEMA’s instruction to Mission Hospital, a private medical institution, to recover the bodies who were killed because of Hurricane Helene, and even expand the number of fatalities. FEMA people said that this is because they could no longer assist in this operation as their officials are too busy helping illegal migrants at the border. (Related: Too busy helping illegals: FEMA passes responsibility to a private hospital for body recovery post-Helene.)

“Picked up a flight of pediatric medical supplies that were brought in and are going to North Asheville,” the woman said. “We were sitting in the private portion of the airport and we got to overhear an awful lot. There was a lot of chatter among the army pilots, the navy pilots, hospital representatives.”

According to the woman, a FEMA executive told people from the hospital that “it is going to be the morgue center for body recovery of all the fatalities of Helene.”

“So, they told Mission Hospital they are not sending refrigerated trucks,” she said. “Whatever fatality numbers you are hearing, add a couple of zeros.”

Keep reading

National Guard’s report of ‘armed militia,’ prompts the relocation of North Carolina hurricane recovery officials

Federal emergency response personnel on Saturday had employees operating in hard-hit Rutherford County, N.C., stop working and move to a different area because of concerns over “armed militia” threatening government workers in the region, according to an email sent to federal agencies helping with response in the state.

Around 1 p.m. Saturday, an official with the U.S. Forest Service, which is supporting recovery efforts after Hurricane Helene along with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, sent an urgent message to numerous federal agencies warning that “FEMA has advised all federal responders Rutherford County, NC, to stand down and evacuate the county immediately. The message stated that National Guard troops ‘had come across x2 trucks of armed militia saying there were out hunting FEMA.’”

“The IMTs [incident management teams] have been notified and are coordinating the evacuation of all assigned personnel in that county,” the email added.

Two federal officials confirmed the authenticity of the email, though it was unclear whether the quoted threat was seen as credible. The National Guard referred questions to FEMA when asked about the incident. One Forest Service official coordinating the Helene recovery said responders moved to a “safe area” and at least some work in that area — which included clearing trees off dozens of damaged and blocked roads to help search-and-rescue crews, as well as groups delivering supplies — was paused.

By Sunday afternoon, personnel were back in place, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The setback is one of the latest examples of growing concerns about safety and security in western North Carolina, where many towns were almost wiped off the map after the historic hurricane made landfall two weeks ago. In the weeks since, misinformation and rumors have made the recovery more difficult, targeting multiple federal agencies operating as part of the recovery. Federal officials such as the secretary for the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA’s director of public affairs have been the target of antisemitic attacks.

Chimney Rock, in Rutherford County, has become one of the centers of tension and conflict after a rumor spread on social media that government officials planned to seize the decimated village and bulldoze bodies under the rubble. Authorities and news outlets debunked the assertion, but people still took to social media imploring militias to go after FEMA. A person familiar with FEMA operations, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the agency was working out of an abundance of caution and its teams were operating at fixed locations and secure areas instead of the usual practice of going door to door.

“FEMA continues to support communities impacted by Helene and help survivors apply for assistance,” the person said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive discussions. “For the safety of our dedicated staff and the disaster survivors we are helping, FEMA has made some operational adjustments.”

The heightening tension has resulted in residents harassing federal employees, said Riva Duncan, a former Forest Service official who lives in Asheville.

Keep reading

CNN Insists Gov’t NOT ‘Deliberately Steering Hurricanes’ Toward Pro-Trump Areas in ‘Plot to Steal Election’

CNN ran a segment attempting to discredit speculation that the U.S. government may have steered recent hurricanes toward “Trump-supporting communities” in a bid to sway the upcoming election.

CNN’s Kaitlin Collins explained that chatter on social media was giving rise to an “old conspiracy theory” and “lie” that the government is manipulating the weather in the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton that have decimated Trump-leaning portions of Southeastern states.

“It was mostly confined to the fringe corners of the internet. The theory goes that the government controls the weather by dropping toxic chemicals from the sky in these trails that planes leave behind. It does not. Those trails are just water vapor,” Collins argued on Friday.

Keep reading

While Americans Were Pleading For Help Last Week, Kamala Was Doing A Vogue Magazine Shoot

While Americans in North Carolina and Florida were pleading for assistance in the face of devastating hurricanes, Kamala Harris was doing a Vogue Magazine cover shoot. 

Yes, really.

The cover came out Friday, but the shoot took place on Monday, just days after hurricane Helene wreaked devastation, leaving many destitute.

Even worse, the federal government’s response was woeful, with many charging that FEMA seems more concerned about diversity equity and inclusion than helping people in a natural disaster.

Despite this, Harris was hailed by Vogue as “the candidate for our times.”

Keep reading

Democrat Congresswomen Tell Social Media Platforms to “Quickly and Decisively” Censor Hurricane “Misinformation”

Despite recent pushback for politicians encouraging social media platforms to increase censorship online, in the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, a cadre of Democratic House representatives from the affected regions have appealed to major social media platforms to intensify their efforts to censor alleged “misinformation” related to the storms.

We obtained a copy of the letter for you here.

“We write to your platforms with an urgent request on behalf of states affected by the devastation of Hurricane Helene and those currently being impacted by Hurricane Milton,” the letter states. “In the aftermath of Helene, we have witnessed a troubling surge in misinformation, disinformation, conspiracy theories, and scams that are hindering recovery efforts and exploiting vulnerable individuals and families.”

The representatives say are concerned about the proliferation of false claims and blame these reportedly false claims for the hindering of recovery efforts. The congresswomen also say that social media posts are undermining public confidence in institutions.

The call for a crackdown on misinformation was articulated in a letter addressed to seven major social media entities, including Meta, X, TikTok, Discord, YouTube, Snap, and Instagram. Authored by Representatives Deborah Ross (D-N.C.), Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), Nikema Williams (D-Ga.), and Wiley Nickel (D-N.C.), the letter alleges that misinformation is having a dire impact.

Keep reading

Kamala Harris is hit by claim she pulled outrageous Hurricane Helene stunt to make her look caring

Kamala Harris staged a photo op in front of hurricane aid without ever actually sending the supplies to victims, a veteran turned charity worker claims. 

The sensational allegations were made on a podcast hosted by Shawn Ryan, a former U.S. Navy Seal speaking with veterans who have assisted with Hurricane Helene clean up efforts in North Carolina.

The Democrat presidential hopeful traveled to North Carolina in the aftermath of Helene, where she stood in front of a C-17 plane, flanked by military, to pledge ongoing federal support to victims.

‘I had a squadron commander from North Carolina reach out to me, they had to load a C-17 full of supplies just to take a photo op for Kamala, and they never sent the bird,’ Jonathan Howard, from not-for-profit Aerial Recovery claimed.

‘They loaded an entire C-17 full of supplies for the hurricane victims just for Kamala to go there, take a photo, take a video, and they never sent the C-17.’

DailyMail.com has contacted Harris for a comment on the allegations.  

At least four C-17s have taken supplies to North Carolina since the tragedy, the air force revealed earlier this week.

Chief Master Sgt. Jeremy Mullins said airmen have been working around the clock to ensure victims in Asheville and surrounds were receiving supplies in a timely manner.

Some 228 pallets – about 50,000 pounds – of food, water and medication have been taken to those in need. 

Helene made landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida at night on September 26 before laying waste to Georgia and the Carolinas. 

Keep reading