The death toll from Hurricane Helene has reached over 225, and fears are growing that the remaining 600 reported missing will ultimately be counted among the dead. In Asheville, North Carolina—a city with a population of 100,000 that was hit especially hard by the storm—around 75 people remain missing.
The nearly 500-mile-wide destructive path of Hurricane Helene, which includes the states of Florida, Georgia, Tennesee, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Virginia, has made it one of the deadliest storms in American history—and the deadliest in the past 20 years. A slow response by Biden-Harris federal emergency management officials and the difficult terrain around the remote Appalachian mountain towns impacted has hampered rescue efforts across the region.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been highly critical of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) response in North Carolina. Musk says he has numerous individuals on the ground in the state to deliver Starlink satellite Internet in areas that have lost communications capabilities. However, he claims FEMA has hampered these efforts, requiring escorts for those transporting the Starlink devices into remote areas.
Additionally, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has come forward with evidence of mismanagement by the Biden-Harris Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and FEMA. According to Gaetz, the whistleblower claims that numerous Department of Defense (DOD), DHS, and FEMA personnel deployed throughout the Appalachian region in response to the destruction have been left without clear directives, further delaying the federal government’s emergency response.