On Tuesday, Red State posted an article about the ongoing recovery efforts in western North Carolina following Hurricane Helene (in late September). There are still people sleeping in tents, and western North Carolina is cold right now!

The article reports:

The people of Western North Carolina have had a stable Christmas and will definitely have a happier New Year thanks to a number of organizations, from Samaritan’s Purse to United Cajun Navy to individuals like Shawn Hendrix, Chris Hall, and so many others. They have worked (and are still working) to provide food, shelter, and resources to the families affected by September’s Hurricane Helene disaster, and they also brought Christmas to everyone in the region who experienced the devastation of their homes and their lives. 

But the Amish of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, have risen like cream to the top. This is not even their region of the country, but a group of them with “Cabins for Christ” came down in October, created campsites for themselves away from the wreckage so that they would not disrupt the cleanup and assessment, and set themselves to build homes for the people who had lost theirs.

But to no one’s surprise, the resurrection of Western North Carolina will have little to do with the governmental agency that is supposed to be boots on the ground in the midst of disaster: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). They claim, “Our mission is helping people before, during and after disasters. Our core values and goals help us achieve it.” Tragically, despite billions being poured into their coffers, they haven’t achieved much for the citizens of Western North Carolina who had their homes destroyed by Helene. And winter is already here, and more storms are coming.

Twelve homes in 48 hours versus three homes over three months.

The article includes the following:

A spokesperson for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, apologized Wednesday in response to a question from WBTV about why the agency failed to deliver dozens of travel trailers and manufactured homes to North Carolina residents displaced by Hurricane Helene.

Our questions came after a FEMA spokesperson told WBTV the week of Thanksgiving that the agency would deliver a total of 103 temporary travel trailers and manufactured homes to families in North Carolina by the end of that week. At the time, FEMA had delivered 27 homes.

By Wednesday, Dec. 4, FEMA had still only delivered 46 homes — well short of the number of promised temporary homes.

WBTV learned that more than 500 families have been approved for a FEMA travel trailer or manufactured home in the wake of Helene. The agency’s slow deployment of the homes means hundreds of families are weathering the snow and freezing temperatures currently hitting the North Carolina mountains.

This is unacceptable and hopefully will change in the next month.