There has been much said about the FEMA response to Hurricane Helene. There are those who claim that info about ineptitude on the part of FEMA is not accurate. They base this on their own experience or the experience of someone they know. These people say that they got their $750 quickly and that FEMA has been around for days.
All of this is may be true. However, it does not show that FEMA is doing a good job. What it shows is that these people had a good experience. These good experiences do not negate the bad experiences of others. Again, the fact that some people have had bad experiences (or no contact) with FEMA does not mean that FEMA is not doing what they are supposed to. In a disaster, some people can fall through the cracks in the beginning. One has to look at the overall effort.
The screen shot above comes from the Facebook page of a website called “The Other 98%.” I am not sure what that is supposed to mean. Their website says they are working for the other 98% of America. They appear to be a far-left website. That would eliminate at least 80% of the country.
Interestingly, Politifact, a left-wing fact-checking website, rates most of The Other 98% claims to be mostly false or false. Other fact checking institutions have an equally low rating for this website.
Commenters on their Facebook page attribute any negative feedback about FEMA to people ignoring the obvious, good, visible response of FEMA. According to these people, it is an accepted fact that FEMA is doing a good job. So, what are the real facts?
It is generally accepted that the response to Katrina in New Orleans and its surrounding areas was, to put it charitably, substandard. How does the Helene response compare to Katrina?
Helene and Katrina are roughly comparable disasters. In Katrina, 2 million people lost enduring power; in Helene, that number was closer to 1.5 million. Yes, New Orleans is on the ocean, whereas the worst impact of Helene was largely concentrated in mountain hollows. Despite the somewhat smaller numbers, it is arguably more difficult to provide support to Helene victims than Katrina because of the terrain.
Let’s be reminded that much of the relief work is done by our military. The military will be flying in relief supplies, etc. FEMA acts as the overall coordinating agency.
As noted by a former logistics officer, in Katrina, a three-star general was placed in command, along with the two-star commanding general of the 82nd Airborne Division, with a full Airborne Infantry Brigade task force of the 82nd, a corps-support logistics command of thousands of soldiers, a signal battalion, a combat support hospital, robust Army engineer assets, and countless other support units. All of these units were on standby orders days before Katrina hit.
How about Helene? A week AFTER Helene hit, a tiny 1,000-troop Airborne Infantry Battalion task force of the 82nd (one-third the size of a brigade) was given a warning order under the ground command of a mere one-star general. These forces are without the medical, engineer, corps-level logistics, signal/communications, and Division/Army HQ command and control capabilities that defined Katrina support.
This retired logistics officer noted that some 2600 Marines were also tasked with relief efforts after Katrina. To date, it does not appear that any Marines have been dispatched.
How about helicopters? Literally hundreds of helicopters were actively involved in the Katrina relief efforts. In the case of mountainous WNC, helicopter support may be the most essential relief element of all. Many small communities have been cut off from all help except such help as comes in via helicopter. Helicopters bring in needed food, water and construction and medical supplies. Helicopters evacuate the elderly, the stranded, the sick and injured. According to the DOD’s press releases, it looks like 28 active-duty helicopters are involved.
That is an abysmal record. It has gotten so bad that private groups have organized relief efforts using helicopters and have delivered hundreds of thousands of pounds of relief goods that are being provided by private donations. These goods have been delivered to communities in the mountains who have yet to see a FEMA representative.
The Biden-Harris administration’s federal response to Helene has been horrific, if not criminal. It is orders of magnitude WORSE than Katrina. That is not to say that no people are getting helped. Or that some months down the road that many people will be helped. What is being referenced is the response for the first few weeks after the tragedy.
Some people say the problem is that North Carolina’s governor has not requested military support. While technically correct under the Stafford Act, any competent President could get a governor to accept federal help. This is clear in the relationship between DeSantis and Biden where both are working very amicably together for Florida’s benefit.
Perhaps this raises two questions. If Governor Cooper, a Democrat, did not request help, why didn’t Biden twist his arm? It couldn’t be that, except for Asheville which represents 6% of the population of the area, the rest of the area is deep red MAGA country, could it?
The second question is one that most people would have considered to be the wildest of conspiracy theories a few short weeks ago. Is Biden trying to undercut the Harris campaign effort? Some of Joe Biden’s recent actions point in that direction.
Both of these questions raise another question. Are Democrats really this evil? Are the Democrats rejoicing in this disaster because, as many on the woke left are saying, MAGA people are being punished for being ignorant and evil? There is little doubt that many on the Left believe that MAGA people are vilest of human beings. The post above implies that many of these people cannot read and that is why they are not getting FEMA aid.
I am not putting my finger on the scale to answer any of the above questions. I would ask two more questions.
Is it negligence? Is it our global commitments to endless wars?
I think the American people should decide on November 5th.