Hurricane Helene and FEMA’s response to it have sparked misleading narratives about FEMA’s funding, its priorities and management, weather control and lithium mining. Let’s unpack what we know about each claim.

• Claim That Disaster Relief Money Has Gone to Immigrant Services
• How FEMA Spends Disaster Relief Funds
• Questions About FEMA’s Priorities
• Is FEMA Ignoring Requests for Help? 
• Did FEMA Give Out $750 Loans?
• Compared to Hurricane Katrina
• Claims of Weather Control
• Why Would Someone Want to Control Hurricane Helene?

Claims That Disaster Relief Money Has Gone to Immigrant Services

Disaster relief money comes from a different fund than the money FEMA uses to resettle non-citizen migrants. 

According to Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), one whistleblower has alleged FEMA used funds marked for disaster relief to instead fund its Shelter and Services migrant program, which FEMA has denied.

Donald Trump and many outlets on the right have noted FEMA has spent over $640 million on immigrant services this year. DHS has allocated a total of $1.4 billion since fall 2022 to handle an influx of migrants via FEMA's Shelter and Services Program, which has its own fund.

FEMA’s Shelter and Services program, which has a $650 million budget in 2024, is led in partnership with Customs and Border Protection (CBP). FEMA says the program “provides financial support to non-federal entities to provide humanitarian services to noncitizen migrants following their release from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The intent is to support CBP in the safe, orderly and humane release of noncitizen migrants from short-term holding facilities.” FEMA says the program distributes DHS funds, and since the $650 million is not FEMA’s money, it could not have been used for disaster relief. 

The Disaster Relief Fund gets some resources through annual appropriations and is supplemented at the discretion of Congress, which was in recess when Hurricane Helene struck. Amid calls for an emergency session, Speaker Mike Johnson has not convened Congress to pass additional funding for disaster relief.

How FEMA Spends Disaster Relief Funds

FEMA disaster relief funds, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), are used to: 

• Repair, replace, and improve the resiliency of damaged infrastructure; 
• Clear debris; 
• Provide critical services; 
• Cover the costs of home repairs, property replacement, and other needs for affected households; and 
• Implement projects designed to mitigate the effects of future disasters

“Authorization legislation establishes priorities for DRF-funded programs, defines the types of assistance households and governments can receive, and specifies the terms under which it is available,” the CBO said. 

For context, in response to the 2005 hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma, FEMA spent $64 billion from the DRF (in 2022 dollars), 75% of which was spent during the first three years. Most was spent in the second year of recovery efforts; less than $5 billion was spent in 2005. 

Hurricane Helene is the deadliest hurricane to hit the mainland since Katrina. FEMA has provided more than $147 million to aid Helene recovery, so far. DRF funds not only go to emergency services, but will help rebuild infrastructure over the next several years and take on projects to reduce future damage, which can take up to a decade to complete. 

Questions About FEMA’s Priorities

Some, however, are making a broader argument that FEMA has misplaced priorities, and the fund for housing immigrants should be smaller in order to supply resources for events such as natural disasters. 

/1 MISPLACED PRIORITIES —

Over the last 4 years the Biden-Harris admin has steadily transformed FEMA — the agency responsible for responding to natural disasters like Hurricane Helene — into an illegal alien resettlement agency that emphasizes DEI over public safety.

THREAD: pic.twitter.com/yrGTVVfd08

— America First Legal (@America1stLegal) September 30, 2024

Some have also highlighted the prioritization of DEI efforts within FEMA, focusing on a webinar the organization held last year. "LGBTQIA people, and people who have been disadvantaged are already struggling. They already have their own things to deal with. So you add a disaster on top of that, it’s just compounding on itself," an Emergency Management Specialist said.

Voices on the right argue that FEMA, by straying from its core mission of Federal Emergency Management, has fewer volunteers and is less competent at managing emergencies like hurricanes.

Others have compared FEMA funding to Ukraine aid or Lebanon aid, implying that the Biden administration does not do as much for American citizens as it does for those abroad.

Is FEMA Ignoring Requests for Help? 

Separately, several volunteers in North Carolina have accused FEMA of not properly responding to calls for help. Whistleblowers told Rep. Gaetz FEMA employees sent to areas like North Carolina were sitting in hotels waiting on deployment orders that they hadn’t received. 

During a CNN (digital content rated Lean Left) interview on Sunday, the directors of Operation Airdrop and Operation Helo, two major volunteer groups in North Carolina, said there was "still no FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency], still no military, still no nothing, we're begging—this is day eight, nine now."

The New York Post (Lean Right bias) reported on a local volunteer operation run by ex-Green Beret Adam Smith, who said FEMA did not show up until Thursday, almost a week after the storm killed over 230 people. “This disaster has definitively proven without a shadow of a doubt FEMA’s incompetence and incapability,” he said.

“We need help, but I have not seen anyone from FEMA, I don’t even know where to begin,” said another resident.

A spokesman for Haywood County, NC, said, “We have the National Guard out here, which has been a huge help.” Adding that FEMA was aiding as well, “They’re not assisting homeowners yet, but they are assisting us and they are assessing damage.”

North Carolina’s mountainous landscape is different from Florida’s. “It’s a challenging environment to operate in,” said FEMA’s acting associate administrator for response and recovery.

A local law enforcement officer reportedly said, “Please do not donate to FEMA. They are hindering a lot of what people are trying to accomplish out in the western part of the state.”

It’s unclear whether these personal anecdotes from volunteers and local emergency services reflect what is going on in all parts of the state. 

Did FEMA Give Out $750 Loans?

As part of immediate relief services, FEMA went door-to-door, offering $750 grants per person for essential needs like food, baby formula, medication, and other emergency supplies. For those facing damaged homes, FEMA will provide more money after they apply for property assistance.

Some have said that this is a loan. FEMA denies this, and there’s no evidence to support the claim that it was a loan. It’s a grant that does not need to be repaid. 

Compared to Hurricane Katrina

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina was of a similar magnitude to Hurricane Helene. Helene was 400 miles across, similar in size to Katrina, and was the third deadliest in the U.S. since forecasting began in the 1960s, coming in behind Katrina and Camille (1969). Katrina killed 1,800 and displaced over 1.5 million, while Helene killed an estimated 230. 

The response to Katrina faced similar criticism to Helene, as the federal government was accused of being slow to respond to flooding. The New Orleans Emergency Operations Manager said, “This is not a FEMA operation. I haven't seen a single FEMA guy. FEMA has been here three days, yet there is no command and control. We can send massive amounts of aid to tsunami victims, but we can't bail out the city of New Orleans."

The Director of Homeland Security for New Orleans said, "It's criminal within the confines of the United States that within one hour of the hurricane they weren't force-feeding us. It's like FEMA has never been to a hurricane." The recovery operations had been “carried on the backs of the little guys for four g****** days,” he added.

President Biden has been criticized by former President Trump and other Republicans for “sleeping” at his beach house in Delaware during the hurricane. In 2005, George W. Bush faced a similar criticism for not returning from his vacation in Texas until Wednesday afternoon, when Katrina hit on Monday.

Claims of Weather Control

There’s no evidence that Helene was the result of or affected by any weather control efforts.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) is among those who claimed weather control was involved in the hurricane, pointing to patents on devices that can control the weather. A community note on her X post highlighted that many of the patents aren’t effective enough to “control the weather.” For example, “US1103490A drops water from balloons as ‘rain.’ US1225521A burns fuel, hoping that rising hot air can block toxic gases.”

One method of weather modification that some point to is cloud seeding, which aims to alter the amount of precipitation via a plane or ground generator. The U.S. used cloud seeding during the Vietnam War to prolong the monsoon season without the public’s knowledge. Whether cloud seeding is effective is debated among academics, and it has not been proven to be capable of producing hurricanes or mass rainfall. Some have posted videos on social media of Amazon’s Alexa reportedly saying the government used cloud seeding during Hurricane Helene.

There have been efforts to control hurricanes in the past that have failed. Some commentators have pointed to these past operations as precursors to operations they believe may be happening today. The Associated Press (Lean Left) said recent hurricanes have been devastating the same places for the past several decades.

Why Would Someone Want to Control Hurricane Helene?

What is driving claims that the hurricane was intentionally controlled? One of the claims is that the hurricane, which hit North Carolina the hardest, is tied to lithium mining. 

The Albemarle Corporation plans to reopen a lithium-rich mine in North Carolina, having secured a 5-year strategic agreement with Ford Motor Company. Lithium is a crucial component in electric vehicle batteries. The mine was slated to reopen by 2026, but a recent collapse in lithium prices delayed the project. There are also reports of pushback from local residents in the areas surrounding the mines. 

Another mining company, Piedmont Lithium, was awarded grants totaling $290 million from the U.S. Department of Energy and was directly involved in securing land and permits in western North Carolina. Some have raised suspicions over financial connections to BlackRock Investments and Vanguard, while also pointing to the 107.14% increase in Piedmont Lithium’s stock in the last month. The Department of Defense has also entered into an agreement with Abemarle, providing the company with $90 million in 2023. 

The theory has been tied to the claim that FEMA was distributing $750 loans, saying that if the alleged loans were not repaid, the government would have grounds to seize the land, although FEMA said it cannot seize personal property. Others have instead pointed to the ease of land grabs following a disaster of this magnitude, as property values will likely plummet and people may be left helpless and unable to rebuild what they lost of their livelihoods. 

Some, including Rep. Greene, have also implied that the hurricane was modified in an effort to sway the election because the hurricane affected Republican areas. Asheville, the city with the most damage, is a blue city, but surrounding rural areas are red. Those rural areas will likely receive help after urban centers, as repair efforts are more difficult in outlying areas. 

Clare Ashcraft is the Bridging Coordinator & Media Analyst at AllSides. She has a Center bias.

Reviewed by Henry Brechter, Editor-in-Chief (Center bias), Julie Mastrine, Director of Marketing and Media Bias Ratings (Lean Right bias) Johnathon Held, News and Bias Analyst (Lean Right bias), and Evan Wagner, News Editor and Product Manager (Lean Left bias).