Thu. Feb 6th, 2025
hurricane andrew

A significant political controversy has emerged regarding the financial support designated for communities affected by recent storms, particularly in the key swing states of North Carolina and Georgia.

Last week, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas stated that although the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has effectively addressed immediate relief efforts following the hurricane, the agency is struggling with insufficient funds to sustain its operations throughout the season.

Former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, asserted that FEMA’s financial challenges are attributed to its budget being utilized for aid to undocumented immigrants. During a rally on Thursday, he claimed that “Kamala spent all her FEMA money—billions of dollars—on housing for illegal migrants.”

In response, FEMA’s acting director of the Office of Response and Recovery assured that “FEMA absolutely has enough money for Helene response right now,” while FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell dismissed Trump’s assertions as “frankly ridiculous and just plain false.”

Despite this, the White House acknowledged that while FEMA currently has sufficient funds for the immediate emergency response, Congress may need to authorize additional funding once the full scope of recovery efforts is understood.

The disaster relief initiatives for Hurricane Andrew are still in the early stages, suggesting that total funding may increase beyond the current amounts. Newsweek has drawn comparisons of this response with those to three other significant storms in American history.

FEMA reported that federal assistance to survivors has already exceeded $137 million, reiterating its commitment to aid communities in recovering and rebuilding. The agency has mobilized personnel and delivered essential supplies, including over 14.9 million meals and 13.9 million liters of water to the affected regions.

To date, FEMA has approved more than $30 million in housing and various assistance types for North Carolina, $71 million for Florida, $5.7 million for South Carolina, $30 million for Georgia, $330,000 for Virginia, and $175,000 for Tennessee.

Additionally, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has announced the release of $100 million in Emergency Relief funds for the North Carolina Department of Transportation to assist with the costs of immediate emergency work resulting from Hurricane Helene’s flood damage. Furthermore, on Saturday, the FHWA disclosed an immediate allocation of $32 million for the Tennessee Department of Transportation to facilitate emergency repairs in the state.

Hurricane Andrew, which devastated the Bahamas and the Southeastern U.S. in August 1992, caused extensive damage across the region and affected many Mid-Atlantic states. The federal response was significant, focusing primarily on Florida and Louisiana, which endured the most severe destruction following the category-5 hurricane.

President George H.W. Bush implemented a relief effort that included an unprecedented $11.1 billion disaster relief package, signed into law in September, which was then the largest disaster relief initiative in history. According to FEMA records from 2003, the agency’s relief costs after Andrew surpassed $1.8 billion, equivalent to about $3.2 billion today, covering hazard mitigation grants, assistance programs, administrative costs, and other disaster relief efforts.

A 1995 report by the Congressional Research Service indicated that FEMA had spent $1.83 billion on the disaster, bringing the current-day cost estimate to roughly $3.8 billion.

In October 2012, Hurricane Sandy traveled through the Caribbean before striking the densely populated Mid-Atlantic states. Sandy, the second-largest Atlantic storm on record, impacted the East Coast from Florida to Maine and extended inland to states like West Virginia, Ohio, and Indiana.

In the aftermath of Sandy, Congress allocated over $50 billion for recovery efforts, with about $17 billion directed toward projects in New York City, where much of the destruction occurred.