Aid and rescue efforts proceed in North Carolina after Hurricane Helene, however one individual claimed President Joe Biden has not helped the vast majority of the affected counties as a result of he didn’t win them in 2020.
Isabella Maria DeLuca, a social media influencer who was charged with storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, posted Oct. 6 on Instagram and X saying, “Out of the 28 North Carolina counties destroyed by Hurricane Helene, 26 of them supported President Trump within the 2020 election— with 527,000 votes for Trump and 113,000 votes for Biden. When you’re questioning why the federal government hasn’t helped these folks, now you understand why.”
The Instagram submit was flagged as a part of Meta’s efforts to fight false information and misinformation on its Information Feed. (Learn extra about our partnership with Meta, which owns Fb and Instagram.)
The declare disregards that federal assist was granted to the affected North Carolina counties and omits context about how the federal government directs assist to disaster-affected areas.
Main catastrophe declarations are made via a declaration course of outlined within the Robert T. Stafford Catastrophe Aid and Emergency Help Act. A pure disaster is designated a serious catastrophe if the president determines that the harm is past what the state and native governments are geared up to deal with. States take steps towards making these determinations by preliminarily assessing harm — surveying the catastrophe’s extent and submitting a request to the president.
Throughout extreme occasions, the governor might make the request earlier than the preliminary harm evaluation.
Part 401 of the Stafford Act says that, “All requests for a declaration by the President {that a} main catastrophe exists shall be made by the Governor of the affected State.”
North Carolina’s Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, requested a federal main catastrophe declaration Sept. 27; Biden permitted it the subsequent day. The preliminary declaration granted federal assist to the federally acknowledged tribe the Jap Band of Cherokee Indians and the next 25 counties:
Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes and Yancey.
The declaration granted help to folks and households and for the rebuilding of disaster-damaged amenities. Additionally, all North Carolina areas certified for the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which covers spending for measures to mitigate future losses.
The submit stated 26 out of 28 counties supported Trump within the 2020 election. We checked the 28 catastrophe designated areas — 25 counties and tribal areas in three counties — and located that Trump gained all however two counties. All 25 counties and the Jap Band of Cherokee Indians had been included within the preliminary catastrophe assist declaration.
The declaration stated “further designations could also be made at a later date if requested by the state and warranted by the outcomes of additional harm assessments.”
As of Oct. 6, FEMA stated the Biden administration had already supplied $137 million in assist to Hurricane Helene survivors. FEMA stated it has supplied 14.9 million meals, 3.6 million gallons of water, 157 mills and greater than 505,000 tarps to storm-affected areas within the Southeast. Practically 7,000 federal staff have been deployed.
In North Carolina, FEMA supplied greater than $26 million to greater than 25,000 households, overlaying housing and different kinds of assist as of Oct. 5. Different assets supplied embody:
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700 FEMA workers on the bottom.
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1,200 city search and rescue personnel.
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1,000 Nationwide Guard Bureau troops.
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Sheltering help to greater than 800 folks.
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8,000 crews serving to with energy restoration efforts.
Biden additionally elevated federal funding for emergency work in North Carolina on Oct. 2.
Biden didn’t withhold assist to North Carolina counties based mostly on whom their residents supported within the 2020 election. We charge that declare False.
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