Residents of flooded out towns across Appalachia have been forced to rely on charity relief efforts days after a Category 4 hurricane brought “biblical devastation” to communities seemingly abandoned by the federal government. While Hurricane Helene brewed over the Atlantic, the nation’s pre-eminent disaster agency was apparently distracted by concerns of “equity” and “climate resilience” over emergency preparedness.
The storm-related death toll eclipsed 100 on Monday morning as Americans desperate for resources depend on local first responders and private helicopters rather than the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). While FEMA routinely prepares for colossal rescue operations in the days leading up to major storms, such pre-staged support was clearly not available to residents in the Appalachian towns washed away by the torrential downpour from last week’s hurricane.
In an interview published with NPR on Sunday, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, who visited where the hurricane made landfall in Florida this weekend, was asked about the devastation in Tennessee and North Carolina.
“I believe it’s nine search-and-rescue teams in North Carolina,” Criswell said, with “more that are coming in today.”
“We’re sending in more resources,” the FEMA chief added, “to make sure we can get to everybody that’s been impacted by this, people that are still isolated from the effects of the storm.”
But moving resources in days after the storm does not mean resources were nearby and ready for deployment. The agency’s lack of proactive measures might be explained by the federal government’s listed values.
According to FEMA’s website, storm preparation doesn’t even rank among the top two priorities of the federal relief agency. FEMA’s stated goals include, first, instilling “equity as a foundation of emergency management,” and second, to “lead whole of community in climate resilience.” The goal to “promote and sustain a ready FEMA and prepared nation” ranks third under an administration obsessed with promoting identity politics at every level of the federal bureaucracy. When President Joe Biden was sworn into office, one of his first appointments was former White House National Security Adviser Susan Rice to lead the Domestic Policy Council. She was tasked with requiring agencies make “rooting out systemic racism” a focal point of their mission.
On Sunday, President Biden declined to pledge additional resources to Americans drowning in what officials are calling “unprecedented” destruction.
“We’ve given everything that we have,” Biden told reporters as he boarded a plane back to Washington.
“Are there any more resources the federal government could be giving them?” a reporter asked.
“No,” the president said.
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