With Los Angeles still reeling from wildfires that devastated thousands of homes and took at least 14 lives over the past several days, victims of a different natural disaster — Hurricane Helene in North Carolina — are urging Americans not to forget them as they face the prospect of losing their temporary housing in the coming days, months after the storm tore through the western part of the state.
Even as the fires continue to flare up in Los Angeles County, officials are scrambling to accommodate those still suffering in North Carolina, where a winter storm has blanketed parts of the state with snow and ice. Weather services are predicting that temperatures could drop well below freezing in the central and western parts of the state in the coming days.
The administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Deanne Criswell, appearing on Fox News on Sunday, said the agency is doing what it can to aid those North Carolinians still living in federally subsidized temporary housing who are due to lose their shelters in the next 48 hours.
“We call everybody. We call them every two weeks to check in on where they’re at, what their status is, and is their home able to be occupied again. But one of the biggest things is when we call them, if we don’t hear from them, the only thing we can do is assume that they’ve been back in their home,” Ms. Criswell told Fox News. “If somebody has received that notification, but they haven’t talked to somebody at FEMA and their situation is still in need, they are still eligible. We just need them to get in touch with us so we can talk to them.”
The agency will cancel vouchers for one of three reasons: an inspector deems their home is habitable again, the voucher recipient refuses to have an inspection, or the voucher recipient is unreachable. “We need to work with them all individually to make sure we’re getting them the right resources so they can continue to stay in a safe place until their home is either rebuilt or it’s accessible,” Ms. Criswell said.
The housing vouchers were due to expire on Friday, though the agency granted an extension to Tuesday due to the winter storm.
Social media users were quick to express frustration that President Biden and Vice President Harris are cancelling overseas trips to monitor the situation affecting the affluent neighborhood of Pacific Palisades while seemingly doing little to help Western North Carolina recover.
North Carolinians are struggling with devastating living conditions in the areas impacted by Helene since October — conditions which are now worsening due to the snow, ice, and freezing temperatures.
One man who works with the non-profit group Valley Strong Relief — which has been helping hurricane victims — Jason Ward, posted a video to TikTok where he expressed his frustrations that Appalachia had been forgotten by the White House.
“We’re praying for California. We’ve had several people make the trip across coasts to come volunteer here with us with Valley Strong,” Mr. Ward said.
“This morning I saw a post made by the leader of the free world. He said that he was announcing that the federal government would cover 100 percent of the cost of measures to protect the lives and properties of southern California over the next six months,” he continued. “I hope that happens. … What about Appalachia? We are 105 days in … We are still supplying our own campers and shelters while paying mortgages on piles of rubble.”
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Publish date : 2025-01-12 09:34:00
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Author : theamericannews
Publish date : 2025-01-12 23:54:53
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