WASHINGTON (TNND) — FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell on Sunday pushed back against baseless claims that the agency is not doing enough to help victims of Hurricane Helen, calling the rumors “ridiculous.”
“That’s frankly ridiculous and completely false. This kind of rhetoric doesn’t help people,” Criswell said on ABC’s “This Week.” “It’s really unfortunate that we’re putting politics before helping people. That’s what we need to do here. We’ve had the full support of the state,” he said, referring to North Carolina. did.
Former President Donald Trump recently accused FEMA of spending all its money to help immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally, but other critics have also said the government is spending too much money to help Israel and Ukraine. He accused her of spending too much money.
“FEMA currently has sufficient funding for the Helen response,” said Keith Tulli, acting director of FEMA’s Office of Response and Recovery, adding that Congress recently replenished the agency with $20 billion, including about $8 billion. He pointed out that the amount was set aside for reconstruction purposes. From previous storm and mitigation projects.
Billionaire Elon Musk on Friday said FEMA was “aggressively blocking shipments and seizing goods and services” during Hurricane Helen response efforts by SpaceX engineers in North Carolina. He said he claimed.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg responded to Musk’s post and refuted the claims.
“No one is closing airspace, and the FAA is not blocking legitimate rescue and recovery flights,” Buttigieg wrote. “If you have any problems, please call me.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) claims the Washington government used weather-control technology to sway Herren to support Republicans in order to tilt the presidential election in favor of Democrat Kamala Harris. Alleged falsehoods.
Criswell told anchor George Stephanopoulos that the misinformation has had a “tremendous impact” on FEMA workers and is “demoralizing all the first responders who have been helping people in their communities.” he said.
A memo released by the White House on Saturday said false information could “disincentivize people from seeking critical assistance.”
Many scammers, malicious actors, and others seeking to sow chaos that they believe will serve their political interests are spreading disinformation about recovery efforts, including how to access critical and life-saving resources. We are spreading the word,” the release reads. “This is wrong, dangerous and must stop immediately.
To combat falsehoods, a rumor response page has been set up by FEMA to provide accurate information.
Meanwhile, FEMA continues to prepare for Hurricane Milton, which rapidly intensified toward Florida on Monday and became a Category 4 storm.
“We’re working with states to understand what their requirements are going to be so we can have those requirements in place before we go ashore,” Criswell said.
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Editor’s note: The Associated Press contributed to this article.