October 3, 2024
Hurricane Helene has cause unbelievable damage across a 500 mile stretch of the south and the east. so does the federal government have the money and resources available to help the millions of Americans who have been impacted?
I sat down with FEMA to get an idea of –first – what these people are up against.
Not just time – but a recovery like this is going to cost money. and a lot of it. some experts have compared hurricane Helene to hurricane Katrina which cost the US government more than $100 billion. And that was back in 2005.
And while FEMA is adamant it has the money right now to address the immediate needs of the victims of Helene, that may not be the case when the current temporary government spending bill expires on December 20th.
President Biden has floated the idea of possibly asking Congress to come back early from their recess to approve more money for FEMA to distribute to these people trying to put their life back together. But how far can FEMA go? are they able to make these victims whole? the short answer is no. and yes – we talked all about those one time $750 payments too. to hear exactly what FEMA can do you can watch my full interview which is now posted but in the meantime – if you are affected by Helene or you know someone who is there is help you can apply for right now. To do that you can call 800-621-3362 or you can go to disasterassistance.gov. if you don’t have cell service or internet access don’t worry there are FEMA personnel on the ground in the affected areas who are going door to door to sigh you up.
