Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas' words earlier this year touted the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) preparedness before Hurricane Helen exposed the agency's deficiencies. As the video once again haunts his words.
Mayorkas warned this week that FEMA is running out of money as hurricane season continues to batter the southeastern United States. The organization has enough money to deal with the aftermath of Helen, but not enough to “get through the season.”
The warning is in stark contrast to previous comments by Mayorkas in the summer, in which he assured FEMA would be able to handle future weather crises.
“FEMA is making tremendous preparations,” Mayorkas said. Assertion to reporters in July video. “This is what we do, this is what they do, and the important thing here is to make sure that the communities that may be affected are prepared as well.”
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“And it's not just hurricanes and wildfires, it's also the extreme heat that some areas of the United States are certainly experiencing,” he added. Mayorkas emphasized that FEMA is “unfortunately flexing its powers every year” due to “the increasing frequency and severity of weather events.”
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas speaks during a briefing at the White House on Tuesday, October 1, 2024 in Washington, DC. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
However, Mayorkas argued that FEMA's disaster relief fund remains in a precarious position and needs new funding from Congress ahead of an expected severe hurricane season. In July, he predicted the stock would be gone by “mid-August.”
Mayorkas emphasized the need to prepare for the “consequences” of increasingly severe weather events as climate change continues to worsen disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires.
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Hurricane Helen caused major damage to parts of the East Coast last week. Floods and mudslides have nearly completely destroyed some communities, such as Asheville, North Carolina, leaving residents without electricity or cell phone service and facing water, gas and food shortages.
A car is abandoned in a flooded area at a used tire store after Hurricane Helen on September 27, 2024 in Hendersonville, North Carolina. (Ken Ruinard/USA Today Network via Reuters)
“They're scared. People are nervous,” Steve Antle, a former police officer in Asheville, North Carolina, told FOX News Digital. “There are already people doing some minor looting in the area. There's no electricity so… at the moment it's just a do-it-yourself kind of thing. There's no traffic lights. There aren't enough police officers.”
FEMA arrived in western North Carolina on Monday after President Biden authorized federal resources, but some residents said they had yet to meet federal officials as of Thursday.
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Sen. Lindsey Graham (RS.C.) told Fox News host Sean Hannity that no FEMA officials have ever visited parts of South Carolina, but he raised the issue. After that, he said, he received a firm promise to visit.
Flood damage to a bridge over Mill Creek in the aftermath of Hurricane Helen in Old Fort, North Carolina, September 30, 2024. The White House approved disaster declarations for North Carolina, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia, and Alabama, releasing federal emergency management funds and resources to those states. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
“Do you know where I can raise money to help with this disaster?” Graham said. “There are hundreds of billions of dollars in the Inflation Control Act that are not being spent.”
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“Why not take money out of the Inflation Control Act and put it toward this disaster?” Graham asked. “That's what I'm trying to do.”
Fox News Digital’s Audrey Conklin and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
