FEMA chief condemns rumors, disinformation about hurricanes
WASHINGTON — Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell said Tuesday that rumors and disinformation will be a regular part of natural disaster response efforts in the future, condemning those who seek to gain political gain by spreading false information.
Criswell said the amount and type of disinformation about FEMA is the worst she has ever seen as states across the Southeast work to recover from Hurricane Helene, with previous natural disasters leading to a “steady increase in rumors.” ”.
Inaccurate information about FEMA and its response to natural disasters has spread through multiple channels, including social media, podcasts and numerous comments and posts by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Criswell did not name any politicians or other individuals during his call with reporters.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Milton Heading to Florida’s Gulf CoastLandfall is expected Wednesday night. Meteorologists warn of storm Probably one of the worst in Florida.Thousands of people were evacuated on Tuesday.
Criswell said she worries that lies about aspects of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s response to Hurricane Helene could have a chilling effect on whether people harmed by natural disasters apply for aid. It can also endanger first responders on the scene.
“It’s really demoralizing for them. It’s demoralized them, leaving their families to come here and help people,” she said of first responders and FEMA workers.
Criswell said that while there have been no personal attacks on FEMA workers or other emergency responders so far, she and others are paying close attention to misinformation and how people in areas affected by natural disasters respond to it. reaction.
She said FEMA’s cooperation with local law enforcement can help monitor safety and security issues, although rumors and disinformation can make things worse.
“If this creates so much fear that my staff doesn’t want to be out there, then we’re not going to be able to help people,” Criswell said, adding that she does worry about “the safety of the people we have walking around in our community. These communities may or may not have full confidence in their government.
“So we’re watching closely to make sure we keep them safe as well,” she said.
Helen brought devastation to multiple states, including Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, south carolina, tennessee and Virginia. More than 230 people diedReported.
storm victims
Criswell said rumors and inaccurate information about the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s response and recovery efforts are “terrifying some” who are trying to navigate the hurricane recovery process.
“I’m worried that they won’t apply for assistance, which means I won’t be able to get them the necessary items they need,” Criswell said. “So those are the biggest impacts that I think have come from this ongoing narrative that’s more about politics than actually helping people.”
She said the current situation is worse than ever.
“We’ve been building rumor control pages because there are always people trying to take advantage of people who have just lost a lot of money to create fake websites and try to get their information and deceive the people and the federal government,” Criswell said. “So this is nothing new, but the level of rhetoric is rising.”
After the Maui wildfires in August 2023, federal officials worked with local officials to help Hawaiians reassure Hawaiians about rumors and disinformation spread in the aftermath of the disaster.
Some Fake news about Maui wildfires Criswell said the information came from “foreign state actors.”
The Federal Emergency Management Agency was eventually able to get federal aid to everyone in need, but it took much longer than it would have otherwise, she said.
The first aid people in hard-hit areas typically receive from FEMA is $750, which is designed to help with emergency needs such as water, food, clothing and medicine.
There is serious misinformation about this amount. Criswell clarified during the call that this is the first tranche of assistance from FEMA and that more assistance will be provided to people affected by natural disasters as the recovery process progresses.
“We know they have urgent needs in the first few days and this is just an initial kick-off to help them replace some of them,” Criswell said.
As FEMA gathers more information about property damage and other issues related to natural disasters, people may receive additional assistance with home repairs, as well as hotel accommodations if their homes are severely damaged.
FEMA will then continue to work with people to address long-term needs, such as providing rental assistance if needed.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has Create a page aimed at dispelling rumors and misinformationon its response and recovery efforts.
It said that in most cases, FEMA funds provided to disaster survivors do not have to be repaid, noting that the agency “cannot seize your property or land.”
“In some less common situations, you may need to repay FEMA if you receive duplicate benefits from insurance or other sources of benefits. For example, if you have insurance that covers temporary housing costs, but you ask FEMA to advance some money To help you pay these costs during the insurance delay period, you will need to return this money to FEMA Insurance Settlement after you receive your temporary housing payment.
The page also says no disaster recovery funds are being used to address border security or immigration issues.
“This is false. No funds have been diverted for disaster relief needs. FEMA’s disaster relief efforts and individual assistance are funded through the Disaster Relief Fund, which is a dedicated fund for disaster relief efforts. Funds from the Disaster Relief Fund are not diverted to other non-disaster relief needs. Disaster related work.
funding issues
FEMA has sufficient funding to respond to and recover from more than 100 public natural disasters across the country, but will need supplemental funding from Congress in the coming months.
“I have sufficient funding to continue to support the response to those two events and then continue to support the recovery efforts for all storms across the country,” Criswell said of Hurricanes Helen and Milton.
“But without supplementation, I would not be able to support these recoveries in the long term,” she added. “We anticipate needing additional funding in the December, January timeframe, otherwise I will have to go back again to what we call emergency needs funding, where we pause our obligations in the recovery program to ensure that I can respond to an event like this that we Saw it today.
The first step in Congress approving emergency funding for FEMA or any other federal agency is typically for the Office of Management and Budget to send a supplemental spending request to lawmakers on behalf of the White House.
Lawmakers could then choose to enact legislation that would provide some, all or more funding than requested. They could also choose not to fund emergency requests, although that seems unlikely this time.
She said FEMA’s current disaster relief fund is about $20 billion.
People who need assistance from FEMA should call 1-800-621-3362 to register https://www.disasterassistance.gov/ Or fill out the application form on the FEMA app.
