Fema

Did Mission Hospital in North Carolina contain 900 unidentified bodies of Hurricane Helene victims and was the hospital turned into a morgue amid the disaster? No, that's not true: "Mission Hospital is not serving as the local community morgue," a hospital spokesperson told Lead Stories. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services told Lead Stories they had "no…

Does a video clip show a speaker saying, "We should focus our efforts on LGBTQIA people" during a disaster preparedness meeting by the Federal Emergency Management Agency? No, that's not true: This was a 2023 panel event, not a "disaster preparedness meeting." According to transcripts the statement about LGBTQIA focus didn't come up in the clip or in the longer…

Did "NC State police" issue a statement saying that they will start arresting any federal employees trying to "stop or hinder rescue operations"? No, that's not true: A public information officer for the North Carolina State Highway Patrol denounced the claim, calling it "made-up" and "completely unfactual." Lead Stories did not find any evidence of such a statement on the…

Does an audio recording show that a FEMA official said "We plan to execute between 70 and 80 ... We plan to evacuate between 70 and 80,000 people"? No, that's not true: This quote was said by Lloyd Austin, then the U.S. Secretary of Defense, when he misspoke in a 2021 congressional hearing about the Afghanistan withdrawal. Austin used the…

Did FEMA aircraft block a runway at the Greenville, South Carolina, airport on October 5, 2024, preventing civilian disaster aid from reaching Hurricane Helene victims and "stopping help"? No, that's not true: While an airport representative said a FEMA contractor did stage their operations on a secondary, "infrequently used" runway there, civilian assistance flights continued on the main runway. "FEMA…

Was the Army's 82nd Airborne Division not deployed to help Hurricane Helene victims as of October 3, 2024, as a post on Instagram Threads claimed? No, that's not true: President Joe Biden announced the immediate deployment of 1,000 active-duty troops on October 2, 2024, which included troops from the 82nd Airborne Division. It also included other units from Fort Liberty,…

Does a policy of the Federal Emergency Management Agency direct it to help "white people last" in 2024? No, that's not true: The document mentioning FEMA's "equity" goal cited on social media as proof says nothing about that. The agency has denied such accusations multiple times. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Threads on October 4, 2024.…

Did the Kamala Harris campaign release a video ad depicting a boy in makeup, necklace and dress trashing his home as part of the campaign's efforts to push abortion rights? No, that's not true: The video was produced three years ago for a U.K. home-insurance company's marketing campaign and has nothing to do with Kamala Harris or abortion. The company…

Is the $750 in initial federal aid to Hurricane Helene victims a loan that must be paid back or people's property could be seized? No, that's not true: The $750, which comes from the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Serious Needs Assistance program, is a grant, not a loan, and does not need to be repaid. Additionally, the agency's website states…

Does federal disaster assistance to Helene victims amount to no more than $750 per family? No, that's not true: The White House stated that the $750 in Serious Needs Assistance is an immediate direct payment to eligible households for essential items like food, baby formula, water, medications and other emergency supplies. A FEMA spokesperson told Lead Stories, "that's not the…