Fact check: Viral claims on the Hurricane Helene disaster
October 8, 2024
Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 storm on September 26 and left a path of destruction in its wake, moving through Georgia, North and South Carolina, and on to Tennessee to dissipate over Kentucky. It was the deadliest natural disaster to hit the US in close to two decades since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
DW Fact check looked at some of the claims surrounding aid being provided to those affected by the hurricane.
Hurricane survivors only get $750?
Claim: Victims of Hurricane Helene only get $750 in aid, while more money is being spent on undocumented immigrants and on Ukraine. This claim has been widely shared in this X post by an account in support of former President Donald Trump. It's been viewed over 8 million times. Trump himself repeated the claim that hurricane survivors are only getting "750 bucks" in a rally in Juneau, Wisconsin, a presidential swing state, on October 6, 2024.
DW Fact check: Misleading.
While it is true that victims of Hurricane Helene can apply to get $750, this isn't the only payment available to them. The sum of $750 is part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Serious Needs Assistance, which is meant to help pay for immediate needs such as water, food, baby formula, and medication right after the disaster has struck. There are also other forms of FEMA assistance available, such as support for temporary housing and home repair costs.
Undocumented immigrants have generally very little access to federally funded public benefits. Refugees and those granted asylum do receive aid, but not as much as several thousand dollars per month. It's a claim that's resurfaced time and again.
Congress-approved aid for Ukraine since 2022 has gotten to about $175 billion — a nonpartisan think tank Council on Foreign Relations has broken this down over the years and put this in perspective with other expenditures such as the $700 billion during the financial crisis in 2008 to bail out Wall Street, automakers and other sectors of the economy. And: Many European governments are contributing more to Ukraine relative to the size of their economies.
FEMA running out of funds because it helped migrants instead?
Claim: FEMA is running out of money because it spent it all on helping "illegal aliens" instead, claims this post on X. There are many posts on social media that claim the US government has no funds for Americans left, such as this post that's been viewed close to two million times. This post insinuates that FEMA spent its $30 billion budget and now can't help US citizens in affected regions.
DW Fact check: False.
Fema says it has enough funding to assist in the immediate response and recovery needs for Hurricane Helene. However, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the agency did not have enough funding to make it through the hurricane season until the end of November.
No money was diverted for other purposes, as claimed by social media users.
"The Disaster Relief Fund is specifically appropriated by Congress to prepare for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate impacts of natural disasters," White House Spokesperson Angelo Fernandez Hernandez said. "It is completely separate from other grant programs administered by FEMA for DHS," referring to the US Department of Homeland Security.
"Disaster Relief Fund money has not been diverted to other, non-disaster related efforts," FEMA said in a statement.
FEMA's Shelter and Services Program meant to assist state and local governments in helping migrants and asylum seekers is a separate and unrelated initiative to the agency's Disaster Relief Program. The $640 million for the Shelter and Services Program was approved by Congress last year — it's miniscule compared to FEMA's overall budget of $30 billion. For the new financial year that began on October 1, FEMA laid out a need for $33.1 billion.
Congress passed the stopgap bill at the end of September, funding the government until December to avert a shutdown before the US presidential election, adding $20 billion.
Republicans voted against FEMA funding?
Claim: "Republicans voted against FEMA aid just a few days before Hurricane Helene hit their states," said this X user in a post.
DW Fact check: True.
Congress ultimately approved the stopgap bill H.R. 9747 to extend funding into fiscal year 2025 including $20 billion for FEMA's disaster relief fund, but all "No" votes came from Republicans. The Senate voted 78-18, the House 341-82.
Is aid being confiscated?
Claim: Users on social media have claimed emergency management agencies are confiscating donations and blocking people from assisting in a crisis.
DW Fact check: False.
People on the ground have debunked these claims here and here that donations are being withheld.
FEMA does not take donations or food from survivors or voluntary organizations, the agency said in a statement. Donations of food, water and other items are handled by voluntary agencies who specialize in storing, sorting, cleaning, and distributing donated items, FEMA added. The agency also said it doesn't stop vehicles or handles road closures with armed guards.
The emergency management agency in Tennessee, TEMA, has even been sharing locations to donation centers and links to places with information on where to volunteer and what kind of donations are needed the most.
Edited by: Tetyana Klug and Rachel Baig