In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, many families in the region remain displaced, with their homes uninhabitable due to extensive damage. FEMA has been under growing pressure over the past few weeks due to shifting expiration dates for the TSA program.
Less than a day after the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) promised Hurricane Helene victims that they could stay in hotels until Jan. 25, troubling reports came from North Carolina Republican US Sens. Ted Budd and Thom Tillis on X stating that people were being kicked out of their hotel rooms on Tuesday.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced Monday night that it had granted an extension of the Transitional Sheltering Assistance program, which provides hotel stays, until Jan. 25 for the over 3,000 eligible western North Carolina (WNC) residents affected by Hurricane Helene.
On Friday, Sens. Thom Tillis and Ted Budd, as well as Reps. Virginia Foxx and Chuck Edwards, Republican lawmakers representing North Carolina, sent a letter to President Biden urging him to waive regulations and provide temporary housing to the victims of Hurricane Helene.
North Carolina Republican US Sens Thom Tillis and Ted Budd led a letter with 17 of their Senate colleagues to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criswell about concerns that FEMA employees were advised to avoid homes that had Trump yard signs, not only in Florida after Hurricane Milton, but possibly in western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene, raising grave concerns over potential widespread politicization of disaster relief.
US Sen. Thom Tillis, R-NC, testified before the US Senate Committee on Appropriations Wednesday He said that the media may have moved on in their news cycle but things are far from getting back to normal.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell was grilled at a congressional Transportation & Infrastructure subcommittee hearing Tuesday about claims that the government agency isn’t doing enough to help hurricane victims.
Weeks into the aftermath of Helene, more than 1500 victims remain in hotels. According to a report from FEMA Assistant Federal Coordinating Officer Hannah Vick, who presented the information last Thursday, most of these are Buncombe County residents.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell is scheduled to appear next week before a Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) subcommittee to answer questions about the agency’s preparedness and response to recent disasters, including Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is accused of telling volunteers to avoid homes not only in Florida that had Trump signs displayed after Hurricane Milton but also allegedly homes with the same Trump signs in western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene.
At Tuesday's briefing on recovery efforts in western North Carolina from Hurricane Helene, Gov. Roy Cooper reported that 92 people remain unaccounted after the storm, with 95 confirmed fatalities. He cautioned reporters that those numbers will fluctuate as more reports come in.
