One hundred and seventy thousand North Carolinians have applied for FEMA assistance in the wake of Helene and 77,000 have been approved, according to state officials who gave an update on storm recovery efforts on Tuesday.
Will Ray, North Carolina’s emergency management director, said 4,600 people are staying in hotels and another 500 people are housed in shelters throughout western North Carolina.
Gov. Roy Cooper opened the briefing with the announcement of a state taskforce, led by the Department of Public Safety, that is trying to track down people who were reported missing after the storm. Many friends and loved ones called the United Way’s 211 line with missing persons reports. Cooper said the task force is working to reconcile those reports with people who have been found.
“As of today, the task force number of unaccounted for people is 92,” he said. “The task force, law enforcement and other partners will continue working to locate those who are unaccounted for, and I am thankful for their efforts.”
He said numbers will fluctuate as the group continues its work.
Cooper, joined by Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell, spent a considerable amount of time in the briefing pleading with politicians and social media users to stop sharing misinformation about storm aid. Cooper specifically called out Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the Republican candidate for governor, who has criticized the Cooper’s administration’s response.
“He needs to stop it,” Cooper said. “And there are other people who need to stop this disinformation which is ending up hurting people who've lost everything.”
A man was arrested in Rutherford County over the weekend, after the sheriff's office said he called in a threat that targeted FEMA employees. Criswell, the FEMA Administrator, said her staff temporarily halted door-to-door canvassing in affected areas “out of an abundance of caution.”
“We still had people working with our EOCs (emergency operations centers) and we now have resumed all normal operations. And I have people going door to door, and we continue to be in the field,” she said.
Cooper said he’s directed the Department of Public Safety and other state agencies to coordinate law enforcement assistance to FEMA workers if needed.
