SWANNANOA, N.C. — U.S. military and Federal Emergency Management Agency officials have continued to provide relief and humanitarian assistance for weeks across western North Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Helen, despite widespread condemnation on social media. He said he has done so and is currently doing so.
More than 1,500 soldiers from the Army's 18th Airborne Corps are delivering food, water and household supplies in the hardest-hit areas, clearing storm debris and searching for missing people. They joined more than 3,600 National Guard members who provided Hurricane Helen relief efforts in multiple states.
The Army expanded its presence at the veteran-run Savage Freedoms Rescue Operations Center to include 100 members of the 101st Airborne. The volunteer center has successfully integrated its operations with the Army and National Guard, and on Oct. 16 received a visit from Lt. Gen. Christopher Donahue, commander of the 18th Airborne Corps.
Soldiers and airmen from the 82nd Airborne Division, 101st Division, and 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command are deployed throughout western North Carolina to provide humanitarian assistance, clear storm debris, restore water lines and help local businesses recover. Assisted in cleanup from the hurricane. Devastating floods and landslides in Helen.
“This is a grant, not a loan. I can't say that enough.”
“So the most important thing for us is to get as many people to as many places as possible, as quickly as possible, to help those in need,” said Sgt. XVIII Corps spokesperson Corey Reese said in an interview with Blaze News.
Capt. Stephen Cochran, a North Carolina National Guard liaison officer assigned to Buncombe County around Asheville, said the Guard had a plan in place before the storm. Landed on September 26th I made adjustments before Helen's anger subsided.
“We expected some heavily hit areas, but the extent, amount and scale of the devastation was just unexpected,” Cochran said. “But the National Guard made an assessment right away. The day of the storm and the next day, it started to look worse and worse as the storm came, so they started plus-up. So from my standpoint, mobilization. We definitely mobilized.”
The National Guard is working with FEMA to distribute thousands of pallets of supplies from large warehouse complexes throughout the region. FEMA has provided more than $100 million in disaster relief to North Carolina and has deployed 1,400 employees to assist in search and rescue and process applications for those hardest hit by Hurricane Helen, FEMA officials said. He said he had dispatched a
“We set up an incident management team in Raleigh on September 26,” FEMA senior diplomatic expert Dan Shulman told Blaze News. “Since then, we have moved more people and more supplies into the state, and to this day we have staff from every declared county working with North Carolinians every day across the state.” .”
Blaze News visited FEMA's supply chain warehouse in Weaverville, North Carolina, where pallets of supplies are being stored. National Guard personnel are manning the warehouse, managing supplies and moving them out.
A U.S. Army soldier assigned to the 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division serves a hot meal to survivors of Hurricane Helen in Green Mountain, North Carolina, Oct. 13, 2024. Photo by Sergeant Nicholas Sessions/U.S. Army
“The number of staff here every day since September 26 has continued to grow,” Schulman said. “That number is only going to grow. As of today, it's about 1,400 people.”
According to FEMA latest statistics, More than $102 million has been approved for emergency relief for victims of the North Carolina storm and tribal members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in 39 counties. This includes nearly $84 million for “critical disaster-related needs, such as moving costs, childcare costs, and disaster-related dental, medical, and funeral costs.”
FEMA officials have conducted 14,400 home inspections to date. The agency is providing free temporary hotel stays to more than 2,000 families through: Interim shelter assistance.
One of FEMA's most pressing challenges is countering Schulman's statements. rumor It was announced on social media that government agencies were seizing deliveries of volunteer aid and that financial aid to disaster survivors would have to be repaid like a loan.
“First of all, we are not confiscating any merchandise,” Schulman said. “Second, registering with FEMA does not allow us to take your home. All of our assistance is grants, not loans. That is what prevents people from registering for assistance. We believe that this is a major factor.”
Shulman urged storm survivors to register for help by calling (800) 621-3362. FEMA website in www.disasterassistance.govor visit one of the six FEMA disaster recovery centers operating in affected North Carolina communities. More centers are expected to open soon.
Shulman said survivors who receive aid denial notices should continue to communicate with FEMA. In some cases, he said, refusing can involve something as simple as providing additional information to authorities.
“If you have been affected by a disaster, please register with us,” Schulman said. “Please keep in touch with us and check on your neighbors to see if they are doing the same.”
“I feel like what we’re doing here speaks volumes for itself.”
The construction of several FEMA employee housing centers has sparked wild speculation on social media that some sinister purpose may be involved. The opening of a FEMA-enabled village in Candler, North Carolina, west of Asheville, has sparked much speculation as media drones fly over the site to find out what it will be used for.
Josh Wirt, director of FEMA's response support division, told Blaze News in an interview at the Candler location that the center is designed to house FEMA employees and contractors, and is designed to house evacuated families. He said it was designed so that it could be moved from the hotel room to free up space.
The housing center has a single unit for FEMA staff. Wirt said each night an employee stays frees up a hotel room for their family to use. Despite rumors circulating on social media, the housing center is not a concentration camp or a type of accommodation facility for illegal immigrants, he said.
“Our concern with contracting with a hotel here is that it takes rooms away from survivors,” Wirt said. “So we try to avoid that, but wherever work needs to be done, we can drive these back to one of our locations within a 60-minute drive. We are trying to install equipment.”
Response villages provide accommodation, showers, electricity, medical care, food, meals, parking and “everything you need if you have to leave your home to assist survivors.” Mr Wirt said.
“Before assisting survivors, we needed to secure accommodations for response personnel to arrive,” he said.
Response villages are being built “so that the staff is not a burden to the community,” Schulman said. “So people drive by and say, 'What is this?'” We set this up so that our staff would not occupy the victim's hotel room. This is a small accommodation for one person. [units]. I stayed in a small single room that accommodates a family of four in a hotel room. ”
A responder housing village was built in Candler, North Carolina, to house FEMA staff and free up area hotel rooms for use by storm survivors.Photo by Steve Baker/Blaze News
Wirt said the team was on the ground in North Carolina for 25 days, but began preparing for Hurricane Helen before it made landfall in Florida.
“We initially mobilized to regional offices in Florida and North Carolina,” Wirt said. “Within two days of the storm, we started coordinating and communicating with people in downtown Asheville to try to find land that we could come in and establish these villages on.
“We worked with the state to get on the ground in Asheville early on,” he said. “I know that there is a disaster recovery center that FEMA is setting up right now. They have victim assistance workers patrolling the local area. That's why FEMA is here.”
FEMA and military officials who spoke to Blaze News downplayed recent suggestions that militia groups are interfering with government relief efforts. This week, one person was arrested in connection with the threat, but the paramilitary group's story was quickly proven false.
“Everyone I met appreciated the efforts of people here to help them,” Schulman said. “But those things [stories] But everyone I met was appreciative and appreciative of the work people are doing to help them. ”
Rees said reports about the militia allegations had no impact on military operations.
“That assessment was of potential paramilitary activity, but one person was subsequently arrested and that was debunked virtually immediately,” Rees said. “We never withdrew. We never withdrew from that county. Active duty soldiers never left that county.”
Reese said the survivors were grateful for the help from the U.S. military.
“I feel like what we're doing here speaks volumes for itself,” he said. “There was no negative reaction in any town we went to. We were never turned around or told to leave or anything like that.”
U.S. Army soldiers with the 20th Engineer Brigade, XVIII Airborne Corps, move through debris as part of a route clearing project in Sweet Dreams North Cove, North Carolina, Oct. 16, 2024. Photo by Sergeant Dominic Acuña/U.S. Army
Reese said the 18th Airborne Corps sent 30 soldiers to help small business owners remove mud and silt from water-damaged buildings.
“Some of these businesses are just one individual who has wiped out the entire store,” he says. “And instead of having 30 soldiers to clean the rooms – even just one elderly person or an elderly shopkeeper – 30 at a time, instead of them having to do it all themselves. soldiers will go there and everyone will clean it up.''The store will be cleaned up in a day.'' ”
Active-duty military and National Guard troops brought in heavy equipment that is being used for rescue efforts, debris removal, water purification, fuel storage, high water transportation, medical missions, and heavy construction.
Bulldozers, excavators, skid steers and other engineering equipment have been used to secure emergency routes. The National Guard and 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade's Chinook helicopters have heavy-lift capabilities and a high ability to deliver relief supplies to survivors and livestock.
Schulman said FEMA plans to remain in the area for as long as necessary to support full recovery from the hurricane. Even after search and rescue teams move on to other missions, more public assistance teams are expected to move in.
“We have a housing task force that is specifically focused on identifying medium-term and long-term housing solutions for North Carolinians,” he said. “They're experts in this subject and that's what they're focused on.”
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