The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) released a “rumor response” page in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which caused significant damage across western North Carolina late last month.

An emergency crew returns from checking the mud-covered side roads near the destroyed Asheville Tunnel Rd Bridge, in Asheville, N.C., on Oct. 3, 2024. Richard Moore/The Epoch Times
In an update on Oct. 3, FEMA responded to statements issued online about the agency’s response to the disaster, including whether it is running out of funding due to payments and efforts made to fly illegal immigrants into parts of the United States.

“FEMA has enough money right now for immediate response and recovery needs. If you were affected by Helene, do not hesitate to apply for disaster assistance as there is a variety of help available for different needs,” the agency wrote.

It also said that “no money is being diverted” from federal Helene disaster response efforts and that claims that “funding for FEMA disaster response was diverted to support international efforts or border related issues” are “false.”

The agency did not provide specific examples of the online claims about its funding that it described as false.

Earlier this week, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott wrote that Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the Department of Homeland Security, and FEMA should “immediately stop spending money on illegal immigration resettlement and redirect those funds to areas hit by the hurricane” and “put Americans first.”

He was responding to Mayorkas’s comments to reporters that FEMA, overseen by his agency, “does not have the funds” to make it until the end of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, which is Nov. 30.
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/fema-issues-warning-false-helene-rumors-launches-response-page