NATIONAL NEWS

FEMA administrator continues pushback against false claims as Helene death toll hits 230

Oct 7, 2024, 1:55 PM

FILE- North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, right, and Deanne Criswell, Administrator of the U.S. Federal...

FILE- North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, right, and Deanne Criswell, Administrator of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, await the arrival of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris for a briefing on the damage from Hurricane Helene, at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Oct. 5, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, file)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

(AP Photo/Chris Carlson, file)

The head of the U.S. disaster response agency continued to forcefully push back Monday against false claims and conspiracy theories about her agency’s response to Hurricane Helene as the death toll from the storm continued to climb.

Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell pointed to the agency’s massive, collaborative effort that keeps growing, and she strongly urged residents in hard-hit areas to accept the government’s offer for assistance.

“We have thousands of people on the ground, not just federal, but also our volunteers in the private sector,” Criswell said at a news conference in Asheville, North Carolina. “And frankly, that type of rhetoric is demoralizing to our staff that have left their families to come here and help the people of North Carolina. And we will be here as long as they’re needed.”

Misinformation has spread over the past week in communities hit the hardest by Helene, including that the federal government is intentionally withholding aid to people in Republican areas. Former President Donald Trump and other Republicans have questioned FEMA’s response and falsely claimed that its funding is going to migrants or foreign wars.

FEMA has dedicated part of its website to providing accurate answers to questions and addressing rumors on its response to Helene.

On Friday, the agency put out a statement debunking rumors that it will only provide $750 to disaster survivors to support their recovery. Criswell said that initial money helps residents with expenses for medicine or food. She said additional funding will be available to reimburse them for the cost of home repairs, personal items lost, post-hurricane rental units and hotel stays.

“But I can’t give it to them if they don’t apply,” Criswell said. “And if people are afraid to apply, then it is hurting them.”

When asked directly about a circulating claim that FEMA would seize people’s property if they don’t pay back the $750 in within one year, Criswell said that was “absolutely false.”

The cleanup and response to the storm that killed at least 230 people continued Monday, while Milton strengthened rapidly into a Category 5 hurricane on a path toward Florida, the same area battered by Helene less than two weeks ago.

More than 130,000 customers in western North Carolina were still without electricity Monday, according to poweroutage.us.

Also in North Carolina, more than 1,600 local and state search-and-rescue team members have been joined by about 1,700 members of the state National Guard, according to Gov. Roy Cooper’s office.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon said Monday that an additional 500 active-duty troops have been deployed to North Carolina. Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said troops with advanced technological assets will be arriving, bringing the total number of active-duty forces to about 1,500. The troops are bringing surveillance equipment to allow officials to get a better overview of the region.

Air Force Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, said search-and-rescue aircraft were flying 10-hour sorties providing wellness checks, medical care and evacuations. He called the military’s operations the “most important and honorable mission for us, which is to help fellow citizens.”

Cooper said more than 50 water systems were destroyed or impaired by the storm and that the pace of restoring service varies by community. He said he couldn’t give a specific timeline but said the process might take longer in Asheville and Buncombe County, where at least six dozen people died.

“It’s still going to be a while,” he said.

In South Carolina, officials estimate $250 million has been spent on debris cleanup, infrastructure damage and emergency response. More than 300 homes were destroyed and 5,200 damaged, state Emergency Management Division Director Kim Stenson said Monday.

The state’s largest school district, Greeneville County, plans to reopen Wednesday after shutting down for seven days. The district said it has had to modify bus routes because of blocked roads, closed bridges, sinkholes, and traffic signal outages at major intersections.

In Tennessee, where at least 12 people died from Helene, Gov. Bill Lee on Monday visited Bristol Motor Speedway, now a hub for collecting donations for victims and centralizing other operations in the wake of the flooding. Lee met with coordinators and volunteers who were sorting through donations.

“These are Tennesseans and they’re hurting,” Lee said. “Not only are they hurting, but they’re helping.”

___

Associated Press writers Lolita C. Baldor, Gabriela Aoun, Jeffey Collins and George Walker contributed to this report.

National News

Associated Press

Llamas on the loose on Utah train tracks after escaping owner

PROVO, Utah (AP) — A small herd of domestic llamas was spotted taking an evening stroll on the train tracks in Provo, Utah, on Thursday after the woolen creatures escaped from their owner, according to the Utah Transit Authority. Several emergency responders were dispatched to round up the five llamas after transit officials received reports […]

2 hours ago

FILE - A hearse and debris can be seen at the rear of the Return to Nature Funeral Home, Oct. 5, 20...

Associated Press

The Colorado funeral home owners accused of letting 190 bodies decompose are set to plead guilty

DENVER (AP) — The husband and wife owners of a funeral home accused of piling 190 bodies inside a room-temperature building in Colorado while giving grieving families fake ashes were expected to plead guilty Friday, charged with hundreds of counts of corpse abuse. The discovery last year shattered families’ grieving processes. The milestones of mourning […]

2 hours ago

FILE - Right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones speaks to the media after arriving at the federal ...

Associated Press

Who will buy Infowars? Both supporters and opponents of Alex Jones interested in bankruptcy auction

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ Infowars broadcasts could end next week as he faces a court-ordered auction of his company’s assets to help pay the more than $1 billion defamation judgment he owes families of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Or maybe not. Both opponents and supporters of the bombastic internet show and […]

2 hours ago

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at hi...

Associated Press

The story of how Trump went from diminished ex-president to a victor once again

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — As he bid farewell to Washington in January 2021, deeply unpopular and diminished, Donald Trump was already hinting at a comeback. “Goodbye. We love you. We will be back in some form,” Trump told supporters at Joint Base Andrews, where he’d arranged a 21-gun salute as part of a […]

2 hours ago

FILE - People demonstrate outside the Supreme Court, June 30, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacque...

Associated Press

Trump’s win brings uncertainty to borrowers hoping for student loan forgiveness

Savannah Britt owes about $27,000 on loans she took out to attend college at Rutgers University, a debt she was hoping to see reduced by President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness efforts. Her payments are currently on hold while courts untangle challenges to the loan forgiveness program. But as the weeks tick down on Biden’s […]

2 hours ago

Northern Arizona University's Jonny Bottorff took advantage of new NIL money making opportunities a...

Associated Press

Money in NCAA sports has changed life for a few. For many athletes, college degree remains the prize

PHOENIX (AP) — Sponsorship deals were far from Jonny Bottorff’s mind when he transferred to Northern Arizona University on a football scholarship. As money-making opportunities for college athletes have boomed since then, the offensive lineman has earned a few hundred dollars through name, image and likeness deals, but nothing that has changed his life. Bottorff, […]

2 hours ago

FEMA administrator continues pushback against false claims as Helene death toll hits 230