Fact check: Posts misrepresent federal response, funding for Hurricane Helene victims

Quick Take

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has provided more than $210 million in immediate assistance to communities affected by Hurricane Helene, which the Department of Homeland Security secretary has described as the start of “a multibillion-dollar, multiyear recovery.” Social media posts make the false claim that storm victims are getting “only $750,” and misleadingly compare that to foreign aid.

Full Story

Communities across the southeastern United States suffered catastrophic damage and loss of life after Hurricane Helene made landfall near Perry, Florida, as a Category 4 storm on Sept. 26. 

With more than 230 confirmed dead by Oct. 8 and many still missing, Helene ranks as the second-deadliest hurricane to hit the contiguous United States over the last 50 years. Hurricane Katrina was the deadliest, with a toll of at least 1,833.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency directs the federal response to all disasters warranting a presidential disaster declaration. It is operating alongside state, local and tribal partners to address property wreckage and restore access to food, potable water, power, cellular reception and transportation infrastructure. The agency began preparing commodities and equipment before the storm made landfall.

As of Oct. 8, FEMA had provided more than $210 million in federal assistance and supplied more than 15.6 million meals, over 13.9 million liters of water, 157 generators and more than 505,000 tarps to affected communities across Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee – the six states for which President Joe Biden has approved major disaster declarations. Almost 7,000 federal personnel, including FEMA staff, have been deployed to the region.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the magnitude of the disaster will require “a multibillion-dollar, multiyear recovery” effort. “We have towns that have disappeared, literally,” he said.

But social media posts have spread false claims that the federal government is doing little or nothing to help storm survivors, while spending billions on foreign aid.

In a misleading Oct. 3 Instagram post, conservative commentator Benny Johnson wrote, “We can send BILLIONS to Ukraine but Americans who have lost everything only get $750 dollars?!” The post has received more than 87,000 likes.

Former President Donald Trump echoed that false claim at his Oct. 5 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

“They’re offering them $750 to people whose homes have been washed away. And yet we send tens of billions of dollars to foreign countries that most people have never heard of,” he said. “Think of it. We give foreign countries hundreds of billions of dollars, and we’re handing North Carolina $750.” (See a related story, “Trump’s False Claim of Stolen Disaster Relief Funds.”)

Another post falsely suggested that FEMA hasn’t done anything to help communities battered by the storm. The Threads user asked, “Is this true: No FEMA, Red Cross, government agencies, NOTHING for Helene?? What a country.” The post is no longer available.

Other posts shared on X and Instagram claimed FEMA lacks sufficient funding to address future hurricanes, misleadingly suggesting that money that could be spent on disaster relief is instead going to foreign countries. The posts, which have received about 3.3 million views on X and over 100,000 likes across both platforms, read: “The Biden Harris regime is now saying FEMA does NOT have enough funds to make it through Hurricane season. RIGHT AFTER giving BILLIONS more to Ukraine.”

Funds Directed Specifically to Disaster Relief

The $750 payment mentioned by Trump and the social media posts represents only one form of immediate federal assistance available to storm survivors, and FEMA has said it has sufficient funding to support immediate response and recovery needs.

In addition, contrary to the online claims, FEMA is funded through a dedicated fund for disaster relief efforts.

FEMA launched a rumor response page to tackle a post-Helene flurry of misinformation. The White House also issued a memo on Oct. 5 addressing falsehoods about the government’s response to the hurricane.

“FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund has enough funding to support Hurricane Helene efforts and FEMA has what it needs for immediate response and recovery efforts,” the agency says. 

Biden echoed this sentiment in an Oct. 4 letter to Congress. But he did address the need for future funding. The federal government is currently operating under a short-term funding bill, which funds government operations through Dec. 20.

“While FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund has the resources it requires right now to meet immediate needs, the fund does face a shortfall at the end of the year,” Biden said. “Without additional funding, FEMA would be required to forego longer-term recovery activities in favor of meeting urgent needs.”

“The Congress should provide FEMA additional resources to avoid forcing that kind of unnecessary trade-off and to give the communities we serve the certainty of knowing that help will be ongoing, both for the short- and long-term,” he said.

FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund, or DRF, is provided by Congress through both annual discretionary appropriations and supplemental appropriations granted in response to certain major disasters. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, Congress allocated $381 billion to the DRF between 1992 and 2021. Almost three-quarters of this total was granted through supplemental appropriations. 

As a dedicated federal spending account for disaster efforts, “no money is being diverted” from the DRF “to other non-disaster related efforts,” FEMA said. 

U.S. military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine has been provided by Congress since February 2022 through other supplemental appropriations.

FEMA uses the DRF to finance both short- and long-term response and recovery activities, including debris removal, food and medical aid distribution, the Individual Assistance Program, and future disaster mitigation projects. The $750 payment is an initial payment survivors may receive while FEMA determines eligibility for its many other offerings within the Individual Assistance Program.

“This [$750] is a type of assistance that you may be approved for soon after you apply, called Serious Needs Assistance. It is an upfront, flexible payment to help cover essential items like food, water, baby formula, breastfeeding supplies, medication and other emergency supplies,” the agency’s rumor response page explains. 

Additional forms of assistance address medical expenses, temporary housing needs and home repair costs, among other needs.

Eligible individuals can apply for assistance by calling the FEMA helpline at 1-800-621-3362, visiting disasterassistance.gov or downloading the FEMA app.

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Editor’s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Facebook to debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our previous stories can be found here. Facebook has no control over our editorial content.