On September 26, 2024, Hurricane Helene, a heavy Category 4 hurricane, left its footprint in southeastern America as it strafed the continent with destruction and despair. With many deaths confirmed over 200 and across several states, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is said to face an acute funding crisis. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas recently issued a blunt warning about the financial straitjacket on the agency, doubting its ability to ensure an adequate response to current and future disasters.
Impact of Hurricane Helene
Hurricane Helene rolled over Florida and cut through Georgia, the Carolinas, and South Carolina with devastating floods and destruction. Communities are now dealing with the aftermath, as the urgency for federal assistance could not be more pressing. More than 150,000 households reportedly have applied for FEMA assistance, a number expected to increase greatly when many residents finally take stock of their losses and ask for help.
The effect of the storm was even worse in North Carolina, as several whole neighborhoods were knocked out by the floodwaters. Hundreds are still missing after incessant search-and-rescue operations. The call for immediate federal assistance grew as President Biden and Vice President Harris visited the damaged and affected areas in support of the people there.
DHS’s funding warning
Following Hurricane Helene, Secretary Mayorkas said FEMA was out of money to see it through the hurricane season. As he noted, though “FEMA can meet immediate needs with the resources available,” it was without the financial resources to take on more than one disaster event at a time.
This is also following the current funding crisis wherein Congress made an allocation of $20 billion to replenish FEMA’s DRF within a stopgap government funding measure that would then be expected to last up to December 20, 2024. With this funding, there is a growing fear that it will be insufficient for the ongoing recovery efforts since the hurricane season goes up to November 3024.
Mayorkas reported that FEMA is working hard to address immediate needs and is also gearing up in preparation for any additional storms this season. At the same time, he stopped short of indicating how much more funding would be required to enable FEMA to adequately respond to all the requests from the affected states.
Congressional response and political implications
This situation has called for bipartisan action from Congress to reconvene consideration of supplemental funding measures prior to elections taking precedence in November. Various members have called for urgent, additional funding required for recovery efforts in their respective regions. They said that “Congress cannot afford to wait as it would make it impossible for FEMA to meet the needs of those affected by Hurricane Helene and any subsequent disasters.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson has pressed the idea that Congress has already provided sufficient funding to cover FEMA’s response efforts. With many communities still fighting to recover-more than a million people without power-there is growing pressure on lawmakers to turn to the financial issues with urgency.
The road ahead: Recovery and resilience
The longer-term impacts of Hurricane Helene are now beginning to unwind, and it is here that the impacts of DHS’s funding announcement loom large. Though over 70% of the reported power outages have been restored, many residents reported still having significant access issues to many basic services and local leaders are calling for immediate action from federal authorities.
So far, FEMA has already deployed thousands of personnel and distributed millions of meals and liters of water to the affected areas. While applications for disaster assistance are still pouring in over 85,000 applications filed to date, a solution to provide sufficient funding needs to be found at a level that will be long enough to cover immediate relief and also restoration projects for those eligible. You can also learn about “Eligibility for FEMA assistance and how to qualify.”
