ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Federal disaster response workers have resumed door-to-door canvassing as part of their disaster response efforts. hurricane recovery work In North Carolina, efforts were temporarily suspended after officials received threats to blame the outbreak. Disinformation.
Over the weekend, reports emerged that Federal Emergency Management Agency employees could be targeted by militia groups as the government responds. hurricane helen. The sheriff’s office said Monday that one man was arrested during the investigation, but the suspect was acting alone.
FEMA has made operational changes to keep its employees safe “out of an abundance of caution,” agency Administrator Deanne Criswell said at a briefing Tuesday. FEMA officials returned to the scene Monday with Criswell, who said: disaster support team In addition to helping survivors apply for FEMA assistance, state and local assistance will continue to go door-to-door. She stressed that the agency is not going anywhere.
“Federal families have been here working side by side with the state since day one, people who are putting their lives on hold to help those who have lost everything,” Criswell said. “So let me be clear: I take these threats seriously.”
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said he has directed the state Department of Public Safety to coordinate law enforcement assistance to FEMA and other responders. He highlighted the damage that rumors and falsehoods on the internet are causing, and said authorities may never know how many people don’t apply for assistance because of bad information.
People gather at the FEMA Disaster Recovery Center at A.C. Reynolds High School on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Asheville, North Carolina. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera)
“Dangerous misinformation about recovery efforts continues to persist in western North Carolina, leading to intimidation and intimidation, creating confusion and potentially demoralizing storm survivors and response workers,” Cooper said at a news conference. “There is,” he said. “If you’re participating in spreading something like this, please stop. Whatever your purpose is, what you’re really hurting are the people of Western North Carolina who need help.”
The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report Saturday of a man with an assault rifle who made comments that “could have harmed” FEMA workers working in the hard-hit Lake Lure and Chimney Rock areas of the North Carolina Mountains. announced that it had been received. One man was charged with a misdemeanor count of “being armed and terrorizing a public,” and was released on bond.
The sheriff’s office said it received an initial report that a “militia in a truck” was involved in the threat, but further investigation revealed the man acted alone. said.
FEMA is faced with rampant disinformation How to deal with Helen, which hit Florida on September 26th and then headed north. traces of destruction across six states.
FEMA employee Girau Alvaro works with Daniel Mancini to report damage to property in rural Buncombe County near Black Mountain, North Carolina, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (Robert Willett/News & Observer , Associated Press)
Asked what’s fueling disinformation, Cooper said social media is becoming more extreme, but he also pointed to politics.
“This is happening in the middle of an election, where candidates are taking advantage of people’s misfortune to create chaos for their own political purposes, and that is wrong,” he said.
Former President Donald Trump and his allies took advantage of the storm’s aftermath in the final weeks before the election to spread misinformation about the Biden administration’s response. their claims were debunked Among them: Victims will only receive $750 in aid, emergency response funds have been diverted to immigrants, people who received federal relief money could have their land seized, and FEMA has been loaded with supplies. Contains false statements such as that the truck is stopped.
helen Destroyed frontier towns throughout Appalachiamillions were left with nothing to do Power and mobile phone service outage and killed at least 246 people. This was the worst hurricane to hit the continental United States since Katrina in 2005.
Terry Daughtry, a volunteer working with therapy dogs at the FEMA Disaster Recovery Center in Asheville, said Tuesday that threats and misinformation, including rumors of militias, put him in danger for the first time on several volunteer trips at disaster sites. He said he felt
“I didn’t come here to risk my life to be shot, maimed, or trampled because of my insanity,” said Daughtry, a volunteer with Therapy Dogs International. spoke. She said she previously traveled to assist with the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, flooding in Virginia, and tornado relief in Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama.
She and another volunteer are using therapy dogs to calm people waiting in line for FEMA applications. They hand out candy, let people pet dogs, and tell people about their experiences.
Despite the extra stress of “absolutely ridiculous” threats and misinformation, Daughtry said she has seen some amazing moments of the human spirit. At some point on Monday, someone in line started playing a guitar and singing about not having water, he said. In the end, everyone sang together.
“These are special people. They sing in the midst of terrible adversity,” she said. “I had tears in my eyes being there, and I still have tears in my eyes.”
___ Brumfield reported from Baltimore.
