Factchecking claims about Hurricane Helene response efforts

In the week since Hurricane Helene caused devastation in parts of the US – in the middle of the election campaign – misinformation about the government’s response has been spreading on social media.

Many of the hurricane victims are in swing states, including North Carolina and Georgia, and Republican Donald Trump has been highly critical of how the Biden-Harris administration has handled the disaster.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) has disputed a number of his claims and Vice-President Kamala Harris has called his comments “extraordinarily irresponsible”.

As Fema prepares for Hurricane Milton, it has described misinformation about its efforts as “extremely damaging” and believes this has discouraged some survivors from seeking help.

BBC Verify has been looking at the claims made by Trump and other senior Republicans.

At multiple campaign events since the hurricane struck, Trump and his allies have claimed that government money earmarked for disaster victims has been spent on migrants who crossed illegally into the US.

“Kamala spent all her Fema money—billions of dollars—on housing for illegal migrants”, Trump said in Michigan last week.

Trump’s claim that Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, has spent “all her Fema money” on housing these people is false.

Fema, a US government agency, has a Disaster Relief Fund (worth more than $20bn for the last financial year) which is ring-fenced to spend on responding to hurricanes and other natural disasters.

Fema also has a dedicated budget from Congress to be spent on food, shelter, transportation, and other support services for immigrants released from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) custody.

This budget amounts to around one billion dollars over the last two financial years – not the “billions” Trump claims.

So, these are two separate pots of money – administered by the agency – which Trump appears to be conflating.

Fema, which has now set up a fact-checking page on its website, called Trump’s claim “false” saying, “no money is being diverted from disaster response needs”.

In 2019, while Trump was President, money was diverted from Fema’s Disaster Relief Fund – around $38m – to give to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The focus on Fema’s current funding comes after the Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas – who oversees the agency – warned that it was running low on funds for the rest of the hurricane season.

But Fema says it has “enough money right now for immediate response and recovery needs”.

Donald Trump and JD Vance have repeatedly highlighted a $750 payment from Fema to hurricane victims, often contrasting it with the money the US government spends on Ukraine or on illegal migrants.

“They promised $750 to American citizens who have lost everything,” Vance said at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday.

It is true that the victims are getting $750 but some context is needed.

This is just one type of assistance provided by Fema.

The $750 is what people can get as an upfront payment to help cover the costs of food, water, medication, and other emergency supplies.

Following this initial payment, disaster victims may receive additional funds following a Fema assessment.

This can go towards repairing damage to homes and personal property, and to help find a temporary place to stay.

So far, Fema has said that more than $210m has been given to communities affected by Hurricane Helene – this includes upfront payments and money to support housing needs.

When the hurricane first hit, Trump claimed that the governor of Georgia hadn’t spoken to President Biden following the state being badly affected.

“He has been calling the president, hasn’t been able to get him,” Trump said at a news conference in Georgia on the afternoon of 30 September.

But earlier that day, Georgia’s Governor Brian Kemp – a Republican – said in an interview: “The president just called me yesterday afternoon, I missed him and called him right back, and he just said ‘hey what do you need?’ and I told him we’ve got what we need, we’re working through the federal process.”

“He offered if there’s other things we need to call him directly, which I appreciate,” he added.

Trump said at the Butler rally that “Kamala wined and dined in San Francisco, and all of the people in North Carolina — no helicopters, no rescue — it’s just — what’s happened there is very bad.”

This is false. By the time Trump made this remark on 5 October, the North Carolina National Guard, which is under the dual command of federal and state governments, had already posted on X that its “air assets have completed 146 flight missions, resulting in the rescue of 538 people and 150 pets”.

The post, published on 3 October, featured a video of a National Guard helicopter.

The North Carolina Department of Public Safety’s website says that President Biden approved the state governor’s request for military personnel and equipment to support rescue operations in North Carolina.

The National Guard and military personnel “are operating 50 helicopters” as part of search and rescue missions, and are also helping to deliver critical supplies in the state, the Department said.