The FEMA Scandal Leaving Hurricane Victims in Limbo

• Whistleblowers allege FEMA misappropriated funds and failed to direct its on-the-ground staff

• Hurricane victims in North Carolina say federal help is scarce, relying on locals instead

• The media is defending the federal response and attacking Trump’s claims about it

The story

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is facing major blowback over its handling of disaster relief in the wake of Hurricane Helene.

Whistleblowers have come forward, accusing the agency of misappropriating funds and deploying thousands of first responders who ended up waiting around in hotels because they never received orders from FEMA.

The whistleblowers’ report was first detailed by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), whose sources from the local, state, and federal government “all point to the same critical mismanagement issues.”

Although the Biden-Harris administration and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) claim that federal support arrived last Monday, many of the hurricane’s victims on the ground report that they have not received any help from the government and are instead relying on locals for food, water, and shelter.

Even over a week after the hurricane made landfall, locals are begging FEMA officials for vital supplies like oxygen for seniors who are stranded in their homes. Western NC counties were all but abandoned by the federal government, and its lack of a prompt response has left hundreds dead. Now, FEMA is slowly picking up its response.

The politics

Donald Trump weighed in, accusing Vice President Kamala Harris of stealing FEMA funds to house illegal migrants instead of helping those devastated by the storm.

This accusation set off a firestorm in the media, as they quickly clarified that FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund is solely dedicated to disaster response and recovery, with no funds being diverted to migrant aid, as they come from separate allocations.

However, in terms of pure dollar amount, FEMA has spent $1.4 billion since 2022 on the migrant crisis and over $640 million just this year. Hurricane Helene’s victims have received a meager $4 million, while the federal government now claims it’s running out of relief funds.

The Biden-Harris administration, along with their allies in the media, countered conservatives’ claims, accusing Republicans of spreading “disinformation and conspiracy theories” to gain political leverage.

As the FEMA scandals come to light over the misuse of funds and failure to deploy promptly, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas — who oversees FEMA — took the time to do some high-end shopping in Georgetown.

Where the media misses

The double standard in the media’s response to Hurricane Helene can be clearly seen in how they covered Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Hurricane Helene has wrought havoc on entire communities, took hundreds of lives, and displaced thousands, but the media coverage remains far less intense compared to that of Hurricane Katrina.

Nearly 20 years ago, The New York Times covered Hurricane Katrina on their front page for twelve straight days, versus seven days of light coverage for Hurricane Helene. The Republican president at the time, George W. Bush, had his reputation tarnished for his response to the hurricane, aided by persistent negative media coverage of him and the federal response.

The same scrutiny for the Biden administration is scarce, and their coverage is mostly focused on rebutting Donald Trump’s claims about FEMA funds.

The mainstream media has also hyper-focused on how climate change is to blame for the hurricane and how misinformation on X is to blame for the confusion among the storm’s victims and in the federal response. Little is being reported on why it took days for FEMA to reach the destinations where it was needed.

Why it matters

As many in North Carolina and surrounding states continue to await FEMA's assistance, the agency's slow response has deeply impacted those whose lives have been upended.

One resident in Swannanoa, NC, claimed that his daughter went through FEMA’s application process to get the “$750 that Kamala said she’s supposed to get” but was only approved for $300 for personal items, despite a significant amount of her house being destroyed.

Another hurricane victim in Asheville, NC, lamented that the federal government took too long to get to them: “It took them 5 days to get here... It's disgraceful.”