As Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell on Wednesday warned of “catastrophic impacts” from Hurricane Milton, she and the federal government are also fighting misinformation about this storm and the recovery effort from Hurricane Helene.
Some of the claims come from former President Donald Trump, lawmakers in Congress and others online, indicating that FEMA and the federal government are untrustworthy and misusing response funds.
President Joe Biden said Wednesday there has been a “reckless, irresponsible and relentless promotion of disinformation and outright lies.”
“It’s undermining confidence in the incredible rescue and recovery work that has already been taken and will continue be taken and it’s harmful to those who need the help most,” Biden said, specifically calling out Trump claims that migrants are receiving money allocated for disaster aid.
“I do believe that the volume of the misinformation is starting to go down, but we need to continue to now remain focused on what our mission is, and that our mission is here to help people,” Criswell said on a video call with reporters. “We are not going to let the misinformation be a distraction to the important work we need to do.”
She said the agency’s efforts include outreach in Spanish and other languages to ensure officials can both dispel misinformation and make residents aware what resources are available.
Criswell is headed to Florida on Wednesday to work with Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who also dismissed claims spreading online that FEMA would bar those who evacuated from returning to their homes following the storm.
“We live in an era where if you put out crap online you can get a lot of people to share it, and you can monetize that. That’s just the way it is,” DeSantis said in a separate news conference Wednesday. “But if you’re hearing something that’s just outrageous, just know, in the state of Florida, none of that stuff would ever fly. … FEMA is not leading this show, we are leading this show here in the state of Florida.”
The amount of misinformation has turned many members of Congress into fact-checkers, leading even some Republicans to push back against members of their own party.
Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., on Tuesday sent an open letter praising the support his Western North Carolina district has received while noting “we have also seen an uptick in untrustworthy sources trying to spark chaos by sharing hoaxes, conspiracy theories, and hearsay about hurricane response efforts across our mountains.”
This included point-by-point debunking of a claim that migrants are receiving aid and that applying for disaster assistance would ultimately result in the seizure of property.
Controlling the weather
Last week Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., posted on X that “they can control the weather,” without specifying who “they” are. In a post on Wednesday, Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., responded that humans cannot create or control hurricanes and that “Anyone who thinks they can, needs to have their head examined.”
Biden said Greene’s comments were “beyond ridiculous” and that this rhetoric has to stop.
Rep. Jeff Jackson, D-N.C., on Monday posted a video on X discounting claims that FEMA is seizing private land and blocking private aid. FEMA has no authority to take land and there’s an “enormous amount” of private aid flowing in, he said.
“And contrary to what one of my co-workers in Congress suggested, the government did not create the hurricane. I feel like I shouldn’t have to say that, but here we are,” he said in the video. “People on the internet can be pretty divisive, but the people on the ground are pulling together, and what they have accomplished in the last week is remarkable and the support they’re getting is just the beginning of a long-term commitment.”
Criswell said in a Sunday interview on ABC that the claims are “demoralizing” to FEMA first responders and employees on scene, adding it “creates fear” among employees who are trying to assist those impacted by the storms.
Trump also claimed following Hurricane Helene that the Biden administration and North Carolina’s Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper were purposefully refusing aid to people in Republican areas. Criswell told ABC that that is “just plain false.”
“We have had the complete support of the state, we’ve had the local officials helping to push back on this dangerous, truly dangerous narrative that is creating this fear of trying to reach out and help us or to register for help,” she said.
Ahead of Milton, Criswell also pushed back against claims the agency does not have the funds to respond. Currently $11 billion is in its disaster relief fund. Criswell said what comes next is uncertain, however, considering there are still weeks remaining before the end of hurricane season on Nov. 30.
How quickly FEMA spends this money and whether Congress passes legislation in the lame-duck session will determine whether it needs to reenter “immediate needs funding” status prior to the earlier estimate of December or January, she said.
The agency also has more than 100 open disaster operations across the country. Criswell said that is the highest number she has seen and is due to a busy tornado season, historic flooding and wildfires in the western U.S., on top of the hurricanes.
“And so as we continue to see the impacts of climate change cause more severe weather events across the U.S., we are going to see more communities impacted, and we are going to see them continue to need assistance to recover,” Criswell said.
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