The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) insisted Sunday that criticizing the agency's response to Hurricane Helen is “dangerous.”
In an interview on ABC's “This Week,” DeAnne Criswell addressed the public backlash against the federal government's response to Hurricane Helen, citing the “false” narratives circulating online about the federal government's response to the hurricane. It warned that it could hamper FEMA's recovery efforts.
“While being able to travel has a huge impact on the comfort level of our own employees, it also has a negative impact on the morale of all FEMA first responders and volunteers,” she said as host. told George Stephanopoulos. “We need to make sure resources get to where they're needed. Dangerous statements like the ones you're hearing create fear in our employees.”
Johnson slams Biden administration's 'terrible failure' in assisting Hurricane Helen victims
A bus is pushed by floodwaters and crashes into Laurel Branch Baptist Church in the aftermath of Hurricane Helen in Pensacola, North Carolina, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart) (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Her comments faced immediate backlash online, with critics accusing the head of disaster relief officials of playing the victim card in a crisis of this scale.
“The important thing to remember during this time of crisis is to protect the sentiments of FEMA employees,” Gravian founder Tom Elliott wrote alongside a clip of Criswell's appearance on ABC.
“Right now, the comfort of hurricane victims is far more important to me than the comfort of FEMA workers,” author Kristen Weg commented.
“FEMA Administrator DeAnne Criswell said it is “dangerous'' to criticize her agency. That audacity,” conservative journalist Ian Miles Chong posted.
“In a time when people have lost everything, roads have become impassable, and cities have been wiped off the map, please remember the real victims: FEMA workers,” NewsBusters Editor-in-Chief Curtis Hawk wrote. .
“It's amazing. Criticism brings out 'fear.' What a game the bureaucrats are playing. Same goes for the FBI, IRS, HHS, DHS, etc. 'Don't criticize us. It's scary. “We feel threatened,'' echoed podcaster Chris Stigall.
The Biden administration has been criticized for its inadequate response to the devastation left by Helen. As of last Friday, the death toll in the southeastern states hardest hit by the storm was more than 224, with more than 100 deaths in western North Carolina alone.
Former President Trump last week accused authorities of obstructing relief efforts in Republican areas in a post on Truth Social after reports circulated that aid was delayed in some areas.
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Republican elected official Elon Musk and volunteers have also spoken out against the government's response to the hurricane, as crews continue to search for missing people and bodies across the affected area.
Musk accused FEMA of blocking a shipment of Starlink satellite internet deliveries in hurricane-hit North Carolina, saying, “Not only is FEMA not adequately helping people in need, they are failing the citizens who are trying to help them.'' We are actively preventing it!” wrote X. FEMA categorically denied this claim in a response to FOX Business.
Debris is scattered across the lake from Hurricane Helen, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Lake Lure, North Carolina. (AP)
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson It criticized the agency's relief efforts and called the federal government's response a “terrible failure.”
Criswell flatly rejected the claims made by Trump and his allies, calling them “ridiculous and completely false.”
”This kind of rhetoric doesn't help people. You know, it's really unfortunate that we're putting politics before helping people, and that's what we're doing here as well,” she told Stephanopoulos.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Wednesday that FEMA does not have enough funds to get through the hurricane season, which runs into November. The department issued a statement claiming that FEMA has the funds needed for “immediate response and recovery” after the Helen incident.
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FEMA said it has also created a rumor response page to combat misinformation and online discourse about the hurricane response.
FEMA did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
