Tag: natural disasters

The Truth About FEMA and Hurricane Helene

I want to open this article by asking people to pray for those impacted by the hurricane.

While FEMA and Harris may be leaving these people behind, God will not.

The situation in the North Carolina area impacted by the Hurricane is dire.

There are numerous credible reports of death counts likely exceeding a thousand people and almost the final tallies will almost certainly exceed those of Hurricane Katrina of New Orleans fame.

The difference between Helene and Katrina couldn’t be more stark.

Both were devastating but Bush was sending aid immediately and being excoriated by the media (I’m no fan of Bush but facts are facts) while Harris/Biden are on the beach or having parties while FEMA is reportedly BLOCKING aid and the mainstream is ignoring it.

I wanted to share some facts and other info on this national tragedy.

Tom Renz’s Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

First of all, let’s be clear about what is happening with FEMA.

First they claimed there was no money for hurricane season. Once the American public literally hit the roof over the fact that FEMA is absolutely funding illegals but doesn’t have money for Americans the fact checkers got moving.

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FEMA Public Affairs Chief Locks Her X Account Amid Outrage Over Agency’s Disastrous Hurricane Response

FEMA Public Affairs Director Jaclyn Rothenberg locked her X account Saturday amid widespread outrage over the agency’s disastrous hurricane response in affected states.

How ironic, given Rothenberg is the agency’s “seasoned on-the-record spokesperson” whose only task is media relations and crisis communications.

FEMA’s website explains Rothenberg’s role in the agency:

Jaclyn is an appointee in the Biden-Harris Administration and was sworn in as the Director of Public Affairs at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in July 2021. Jaclyn is a public affairs, media relations, crisis communications strategist and seasoned on-the-record spokesperson. She has advised C-suite executives, high-profile elected officials, and political leaders operating on national and local stages. With nearly 15 years of experience, she understands the varying perspectives media, state, local and congressional leaders have on key issues and approaches her work with anticipation of how each stakeholder will react. 

However, Rothenberg’s official government account remains open.

Rothenberg’s move comes as the agency faces heavy criticism for its delayed response to the devastation left by Hurricane Helene in North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida, with over 220 dead, hundreds missing, and millions of people still left without power over a week after the storm ripped through the South.

FEMA has not only been slow to respond, but according to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the agency doesn’t even have the funding to adequately address the crisis.

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Hurricane Helene Destroys NC Town Containing ‘Purest’ Quartz Mines, Disrupting Semiconductor Industry

The devastation in a small North Carolina down from Hurricane Helene may cause unexpected issues to the semiconductor production industry, as nearly all of the world’s supply of a necessary mineral comes from that area.

The “purest form” of quartz is mined in Spruce Pine, which has a population of just 2,600 people, according to CNBC. 

With the town’s electricity and running water still out more than a week after the storm and raging flood waters ripped through the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the $600 billion global semiconductor industry may be crippled, the outlet reported. 

Before Helene, companies like Sibelco and The Quartz Corp. extracted the high-quality quartz before refining it and shipping it to global manufacturing facilities, primarily in China and other Asian countries. 

Those operations have all been placed on pause as the Appalachian community grapples with getting basic necessities such as food and water. 

Neither of the major companies has released a timeline on when they could possibly resume mining. 

“Hurricane Helene has significantly impacted North Carolina, USA, and the Spruce Pine community has been hit particularly hard,” Sibelco said in a September 30 statement, before saying that “many people,” including their own employees and families, are facing “displacement.”

“We have confirmed the safety of most employees and are working diligently to contact those still unreachable due to ongoing power outages and communication challenges,” the company continued. “As of September 26th, we have temporarily halted operations at the Spruce Pine facilities in response to these challenges.”

“The Spruce Pine community has been hit particularly hard,” Sibelco said in a statement on Sept. 30. “We have temporarily halted operations at the Spruce Pine facilities in response to these challenges.”

In a similar October 1 statement, the Quartz Corp announced that “operations at our facilities were stopped on September 26th in preparation of the event and we have no visibility on when they will restart.”

“This is second order of priority. Our top priority remains the health and safety of our employees and their families,” company officials added, noting that they have successfully made contact with all of their Spruce Pine workers. 

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The Regime Wants Appalachia To Suffer

Americans from Florida to North Carolina continue to deal with the devastating consequences of Hurricane Helene, now the deadliest hurricane to hit the US since Katrina. The stories emerging from the region are heart breaking. The economic damage to property and the infrastructure will take years to recover from. Large parts of the area will never return to what they were.

Many Americans may be unaware of the extent of the damage. 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. It is on social media platforms like X where folks will find horrifying stories of the stench of death still strong in difficult to reach areas, the lack of government assistance for those in need, and the courage of private efforts serving the area.

Some of this is explained by the time period we are living in. Escalation in the Middle East. A national election is on the horizon. A court decision releasing documents that allows the salivating press to re-litigate the events of January 6, 2021 yet again. What cannot be ignored, however, is the extent to which the open hostility the nation’s most powerful institutions have had to the sorts of people that are overwhelmingly impacted by this storm, predominantly white, working class, and politically conservative. 

This horrific natural disaster is a reminder of the extent to which the regime hates the people who live there.

This was true prior to Helene, where Washington policies have impoverished this areas with policies ranging from the national impact of inflation and financialization to more specific regional impacts stemming from regulatory policy with specific impacts on the region impacted. The immediate aftermath, however, demonstrates the extent to which state reaction to a disaster impedes voluntary efforts to quickly mobilize and assist those in need.

A combination of heavy-handed federal and state action has attempted to undercut recovery efforts, from grounding private helicopters seeking to rescue stranded victims, to the demands of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to stop citizens from flying drones near impacted areas seeking to locate those in need of help. Given the logistical strains that even the best organized response to a severe crisis would create, the voluntary organization of local human resources on the ground is essential to meaningful and quick recovery. Here, the priority of government actors has been to elevate their control over the situation at the expense of these efforts.

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Rep. Nancy Mace Exposes FEMA’s Lies, Introduces Bill to End Wasteful Shelter and Services Program Amidst Hurricane Helene Crisis

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) announced on Friday that she has introduced legislation aimed at terminating the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Shelter and Services Program (SSP).

Mace blasted the program as a colossal misuse of taxpayer dollars that prioritizes illegal immigrants over American disaster victims, and her bill proposes redirecting all unspent SSP funds to aid Americans struggling to recover from natural disasters like Hurricane Helene.

“It’s unacceptable for Americans to grapple with the catastrophic aftermath of Hurricane Helene while the federal government remains fixated on spending hundreds of millions on a program sheltering illegal immigrants instead of helping our own citizens,” said Representative Nancy Mace.

“Kamala Harris and Alejandro Mayorkas have turned FEMA into a migrant resettlement agency. It’s time to end this mess.”

According to FEMA’s own reports, the Shelter and Services Program allocated $364 million in the 2023 fiscal year and another staggering $650 million for 2024 to provide shelter, food, healthcare, and even hotel accommodations for noncitizen migrants.

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FEMA an Even Bigger Disaster Than the Storms Themselves — and How it Can Be Replaced

This is more of a think piece than an article, so please stay with me here.  It’s based on decades of public health and disaster management work I’ve been involved with during my career. 

I first got involved in this while working as an executive at Lexington County Hospital, across the river from the state Capital of Columbia in South Carolina.  I’ve had similar positions at other county and city hospitals, including such disaster areas as Flint, Michigan’s city hospital.  In all cases, those hospitals were responsible for public health in the counties and cities they served.

At Lexington County Hospital, we were hit by Hurricane David – not just hit, but for roughly eight hours, the eye of the storm seemed to hover right on top of our hospital, which was in itself frightening. 

Nowhere near as big as Helene, even a relatively mild hurricane like David is a monster storm. Until you’ve seen water blown into the hospital through the brick wall, you have no idea what a deluge coming at you at 85 miles per hour can do – let alone Helene’s 140 miles per hour winds – you really can’t appreciate the damage it can do.  I do know that when David was approaching, I evacuated my family – my wife and infant son, but not our pet Sheltie, “Pumpkin” – into the hospital.  This protected them – hospitals are built to withstand such winds and environmental violence – so I could focus on doing my job without worrying about their safety.

In this South Carolina community, the Army at nearby Fort Jackson provided helicopter emergency medivac – medical and evacuation services. This was great, real-life training for the Army helicopter and air-rescue crews, and it provided excellent med-evac services for our five-county region. 

This got me involved in what the military have to offer in the realm of support services during a natural disaster.  Later, I worked with a hospital in Jacksonville, on the North Carolina coast, and immediately adjacent to Marine Corps Camp LeJeune.  During my time with them, both Hurricane Fran and Hurricane Floyd slammed into the North Carolina coast with winds of up to 137 and 122 miles per hour, respectively.  The disaster rivaled Helene’s impact, but in a much smaller scale.

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‘Billions for Ukraine, Pennies for Americans’: Netizens Fume Over Stingy Hurricane Relief

As Hurricane Helene-related deaths grow and officials in the states of North and South Carolina – reportedly the worst hit – are trying to airdrop supplies, restore power, and clear roads, the administration of US President Joe Biden has put together yet another bulky package of military assistance for Ukraine.

Americans on social media are calling into question how stingy US relief funds for victims of the devastating hurricane Helene are compared with the vast amounts of aid funneled to Ukraine.

The Biden administration unveiled a new $2.4billion aid package for the purchase of new arms for Ukraine last week, as well as $5.55 billion worth of weapons to be drawn from Pentagon stockpiles. Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris announced that victims of Hurricane Helene, which claimed at least 223 lives and wrought devastating destruction since making landfall in Florida on September 26, will get $750 apiece as immediate aid money.

“$2.4B to Ukraine. $750 to the victims of Hurricane Helen $1B+ of FEMA money to illegal aliens No FEMA funds for hurricane survivors,” fumed Michael Seifert, CEO of the digital marketplace PublicSquare.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg Orders Suspension of Private Drone Flights in North Carolina’s Hurricane Helene Flood Zone — Immediately Issues Clarification After Backlash

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has ordered a suspension of private drone flights in North Carolina’s Hurricane Helene flood zone, only to backtrack amid intense backlash.

The deadly storm has left a trail of destruction across North Carolina, with 94 confirmed deaths in the western part of the state alone. Hundreds remain unaccounted for, and residents are desperate for help.

However, instead of expediting rescue efforts, FEMA and the Biden administration seem more focused on suppressing the efforts of private citizens who stepped up where the federal response has faltered.

Buttigieg’s Department of Transportation took to social media to announce, Drone pilots: Do not fly your drone near or around rescue and recovery efforts for Hurricane Helene. Interfering with emergency response operations impacts search and rescue operations on the ground.”

Many on social media rightfully pointed out the absurdity of the ban.

One user wrote, “The USDOT and FAA don’t know drones are saving lives and aiding rescue efforts by flying insulin to inaccessible regions, locating trapped and isolated individuals, and providing imagery to the world.”

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Kamala Slammed Over Appearance on ‘Call Her Daddy’ Podcast

Vice President Kamala Harris has faced significant backlash over her recent appearance on the explicit podcast “Call Her Daddy,” which aired during a time when Americans were grappling with the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

Critics, particularly from conservative circles, argue that her decision to participate in the podcast reflects misplaced priorities amid a national crisis.

According to the Daily Wire, Harris recorded the interview with podcast host Alex Cooper just as the death toll from Hurricane Helene was rising across southeastern states.

The storm’s impact has been catastrophic, with at least 30 reported fatalities in Asheville, North Carolina alone.

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FEMA under Biden now CONFISCATING donations made to Hurricane Helene survivors

Social media is abuzz with reports that the Biden regime is working against the people of Appalachia when it comes to victims of Hurricane Helene receiving donations and supplies for recovery.

An individual named Alicia Schubert told a story on Facebook about how the aid that recently arrived from the Red Cross and FEMA was confiscated by the Biden regime, preventing it from being distributed to people in need.

“Starting with Davy Crockett High School, they are taking over all volunteer schools in Washington County and Greene County,” Schubert claimed in a post about the situation in eastern Tennessee.

“In order for anyone to get donations that were given, they must be approved. All monetary donations have been taken as well and placed into a TEMA account. If you are unaware of how that works, those items don’t all get used for this particular disaster.”

Schubert says that volunteers who arrived to the damaged areas are being turned away and told to leave. The only ones who are allowed to stay are those who first get trained by United Way, she says.

“Please, I know I already made a post on Red Cross and FEMA the other day, but please if you donate, donate to a church or give to individuals,” Schubert urges.

“They cannot take supplies from churches! Church members will make sure your donations get into the correct hands.”

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