Response to Hurricane Helene: Lies and Facts

While Trump and his minions continue to deliberately and blatantly lie, obfuscate and deceive about the federal response to Hurricane Helene for political purposes and continue to spread false rumors about how disaster funds have been used “on people that should not be in our country,” the Biden administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the U.S. military have quickly stepped up to the plate to support impacted citizens and communities in the six States affected by the hurricane.

We’ll leave it to the White House, FEMA and other reputable sources to dispel the lies and misinformation as they have done here, here, here, and here, respectively

As far as the Department of Defense’s response to Hurricane Helene, these are the facts:

More than 6,700 National Guardsmen from 16 states have been spearheading recovery efforts across the Southeast region providing critical aid to those impacted by this storm’s devastation. According to the North Carolina National Guard, this number includes service members who lost their homes but are still reporting for duty.

Nearly 1,000 active-duty troops from Fort Liberty, North Carolina, and Fort Campbell, Kentucky, have been mobilized to assist with recovery efforts.

An additional 500 active duty soldiers will join the recovery efforts soon, Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement Sunday, bringing the total of active-duty soldiers operating on the ground to approximately 1,500.

Additionally, dozens of rotary wing aircraft, hundreds of high-water vehicles, and rescue boats from 18 different states have been deployed to the region.

The US Army Corps of Engineers has established 12 Emergency Operations Centers across the southeast and has emergency power teams conducting assessments in North Carolina and Georgia as well as water/wastewater assessments, bridge and road inspections, and debris removal efforts in North Carolina and Florida.

North Carolina National Guard members have distributed over 1 million pounds of supplies – including food and water – using vehicles, helicopters and cargo planes to reach all western North Carolina communities impacted by Hurricane Helene

Below are images of several National Guard units and personnel in action. All courtesy the National Guard and DoD.

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