A look at the post Helene effort across the states affected and a look at FEMA…..
Metro area’s are better that rural area’s in recovery and access….
Help has arrived from ALL over the country and Fedeal money is being made available….
At least 183 people in six states were killed by Helene, a number that officials said was likely to grow as more emergency responders reach those who remain unaccounted for.
While Florida and Georgia were transitioning to recovery efforts from the storm, western North Carolina remained primarily focused on search and rescue, officials said. In Henderson County, south of Asheville, teams were still working through a list of more than 600 people who went missing after the storm hit. Not all of them could be immediately reached.
The mountainous landscape of the region is very different than in a place like Florida, said Keith Turi, FEMA’s acting associate administrator for response and recovery.
Despite FEMA’s role in the public’s mind as the ultimate first-responder, its immediate job after a disaster is narrower.
The agency is responsible for ensuring that supplies like bottled water are stockpiled and available, according to Beth Zimmerman, who managed disaster response for FEMA during the Obama administration. But distributing those supplies, she said, was the job of state and local officials, and aid groups.
FEMA is also responsible for deploying search-and-rescue teams and other specialized staff, and helping survivors sign up for its assistance programs, which provide emergency cash and money to stay in hotels or other shelters, and pay for emergency home repairs, among other services.
A big part of FEMA’s role after disasters is reimbursing state and local governments for the money they spend. The agency isn’t responsible for clearing roads that have been cut off by debris; that falls to state and local officials, and sometimes the U.S. Transportation Department. But FEMA will help reimburse much of the cost of that work….
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The Biden administration announced Saturday that it would be sending $100 million to help the North Carolina Department of Transportation pay for immediate emergency repairs from Hurricane Helene damage, according to a press release.
“Working in close coordination with North Carolina, we are providing this initial round of funding so there’s no delay getting roads repaired and reopened, and re-establishing critical routes,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in the release.
“The Biden-Harris administration will be with North Carolina every step of the way, and today’s emergency funding to help get transportation networks back up and running safely will be followed by additional federal resources,” he added.
Buttigieg said in a post on the social platform X that the transportation department approved the request.
“Further support will follow as the administration works with states and communities at every step along the path to recovery,” he said in the post.
This comes as Vice President Harris visits with North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) in Charlotte on Saturday.
Biden assessed the damage in North Carolina on Wednesday by helicopter, and applauded politicians on both sides of the aisle in the Carolinas for their responses, the Associated Press reported….
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Quit ‘ knocking FEMA…’.
A mayor in Tennessee joined other local officials Friday to denounce skepticism and rumors that have swirled around the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) response to the devastation in the southeastern U.S. from Hurricane Helene.
Mayor Glenn Jacobs (R), who serves Knox County, Tenn., signaled in a post online that the attacks on the administration could make recovery efforts more difficult.
“To my knowledge, FEMA, TEMA, nor anyone else is confiscating supplies,” Jacobs, a former professional wrestler, wrote Friday in a poston social platform X. “Please quit spreading those rumors as they are counterproductive to response efforts.”
“If everyone could maybe please put aside the hate for a bit and pitch in to help, that would be great,” he added.
The message comes days after allegations were floated that FEMA does not have enough money to provide disaster assistance, is stealing cash donations from survivors and has turned away volunteers….
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More a post Helene readjustment’ in Tennessee ….
Even as other parts of the interstate reopened this week, public safety alerts warned against nonemergency travel and said that it was still impossible to get to Tennessee that way. Officials also pleaded with people to stay away from the tourist destinations and wait a year to see the golden and auburn fall leaves popping into view, and avoid an urge to see the damage for themselves, which could further clog the roads and stress the remaining infrastructure….
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“Everyone has adapted and adjusted and sort of refocused their lives around the interstates,” Dr. Combs said. “And now that those interstates, that traffic, that commerce, is not flowing — it’s going to make it a lot tougher on a lot of people.”
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The National Guard has delivered supplies by helicopter, including on Friday, but otherwise, the nearest source of food is now 40 or 50 miles away, said Bob Trivette, 67, who runs a small store in Poga. People are having to drive an extra 90 minutes to get to their jobs, he added, using “a lot of gas that we don’t have.”
“It’s going to be tough,” Mr. Trivette said. “We need roads in.”….
image….Members of a FEMA task force in Swannanoa, N.C., on Wednesday. Despite FEMA’s role in the public’s mind as the ultimate first-responder, its immediate job after a disaster is narrower.Credit…Juan Diego Reyes for The New York Times
Politico
Helene hit Trump strongholds in Georgia and North Carolina. It could swing the election.