Fact-checking 5 misleading claims about Helene relief efforts in North Carolina

A surge of misinformation has bubbled up as federal and state agencies and officials have led relief efforts for people affected by Hurricane Helene’s deadly storm system.

In North Carolina, government officials declared 25 of the state’s 100 counties disaster areas after the storm swept across the state’s western region last week — causing record flooding, killing at least 115 people in North Carolina and prompting tens of thousands of applications for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Federal, state and local government agencies are on the ground in western North Carolina and throughout the Southeast to rescue stranded people, deliver food and water, help residents apply for financial help and coordinate travel out of the region. In many cases, nonprofit groups are working closely with government groups.

At the same time, social media posts are misleading people about who is involved in the relief efforts, what politicians have said and done, and what future recovery will look like. The Federal Emergency Management Agency , the American Red Cross, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and lawmakers in North Carolina and Tennessee have released statements to answer some of the false reports.

PolitiFact North Carolina checked some of the misleading social media posts that have received the most attention.

There’s no evidence to support this. The claim appeared in an Oct. 2 X post read by more than 2.5 million people. The local county government, FEMA, and North Carolina House of Representatives Speaker Tim Moore, a Republican who represents western North Carolina have rebutted it.

"There was no ‘special meeting’ held in Chimney Rock on October 2nd involving discussions of the federal, state, or local governments seizing the town," the government of Rutherford County, where Chimney Rock is located, posted on social media Oct. 3. "These claims are entirely false."

FEMA also issued a statement Oct. 3, saying: "The claims about FEMA confiscating or taking commodities, supplies or resources in North Carolina, Tennessee, or any state impacted by Helene are false."

Moore, who represents part of Rutherford County, told PolitiFact North Carolina on Oct. 3 that he had "not heard anything like that at all and I've been in Chimney Rock, and I was meeting with the mayor today."

Flooding has altered parts of Chimney Rock’s topography so much that some people who lost homes or buildings won’t be able to rebuild them where they last stood, Moore said. 

"Parts of the town and everything are not there," he said. "They’re in the river. The river has changed its course. So, I have not heard anyone say anything crazy like (the federal government seizing land), but there's going to be areas where they absolutely can't build back because the land doesn't exist."

Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who is running for governor against Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein, made this claim in an Oct. 2 X post. But neither Robinson nor his campaign cited any specific Biden quote to substantiate the claim.

It’s possible Robinson was referring to comments Biden made Sept. 29 at Dover Air Force base. A reporter asked Biden: "Are there any more resources the federal government could be giving (storm-affected states)?"

Biden responded: "No, we've given them … We have preplanned a significant amount of it, even though they didn't ask for it yet …  hadn't asked for it yet."

Biden’s "no" comment referred to what resources had already been given. Biden didn’t rule out additional resources and, by the time Robinson posted his claim, Biden had signaled his intent to provide more.

In a Sept. 30 press briefing, Biden said he had spoken to governors in affected states who said they needed more resources immediately. Biden said: "They’re getting them immediately." The Defense Department agreed to send helicopters "to get as much in as we can," he said, adding that "it’s going to take a long time."

Biden never said the government ran out of supplies. He said the main obstacle to helping North Carolinians isn’t a lack of resources, but crippled road networks.

"The question is how to get it in," Biden said. "It's hard to get (resources) from point A to point B.  It's hard to get it (in) if some of these roads are wiped out, communities are wiped out."

FEMA addressed the rumor that its resources are limited in an Oct. 3 statement.

"FEMA has enough money right now for immediate response and recovery needs," the statement said. "If you were affected by Helene, do not hesitate to apply for disaster assistance as there is a variety of help available for different needs."

A  man identifying himself as Jonathan Howard of the Florida State Guard Special Missions Unit made this claim Oct. 1 on Instagram. It was shared the next day on X by Libs of TikTok, a conservative account with more than 1 million followers. Howard said in the video that he flew into North Carolina over the weekend and that the local sheriff’s department cited Moore when stopping him from taking off for a rescue mission:

"When I flew here on Sunday, they actually stopped us from going in, the sheriff's department. And it was because of a bunch of politics that they were claiming was the speaker of the House of North Carolina that was preventing us from even going in and trying to kick us out." 

In the same video, Howard said North Carolina lawmakers contacted him to clarify that Moore wasn’t involved: "I have clarified today with North Carolina politicians that reached out to me — good on them — and they were like, ‘That’s complete (nonsense). The speaker of the House has nothing (against you), he wants you guys there."

However, his final comment on the matter may have left his audience with doubts. "This is the kind of political (nonsense) that’s happening here right now."

Moore said he wasn’t involved at all in the matter and has been trying to help integrate more civilians and National Guard personnel from other states into North Carolina’s rescue efforts. Moore said he appreciates that Howard tried to clear his name, but said people are still blaming him for Howard’s problems.

"I’ve had people send me the most hateful messages (saying), ‘You're a monster. You're allowing people to die,’" Moore said. "When I'm trying to make calls to help people and I'm having to deal with those, that's not helpful."

More than 500,000 people had seen this claim, posted Oct. 3 on X. But it misrepresents Cooper’s actions and inaccurately describes troop activity.

Cooper asked Biden on Sept. 30 to make all necessary federal resources available to respond to this catastrophic storm, his office said. Also that day, in a letter to U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Cooper granted consent for Brig. Gen. Charles W. Morrison of the North Carolina Army National Guard to lead response efforts as "Dual-Status Commander for the Tropical Storm Helene response in North Carolina." Cooper’s office provided PolitiFact North Carolina with a copy of the letter.

On Oct. 1, Austin authorized the movement of up to 1,000 active-duty soldiers to help Helene-affected communities. The soldiers would be assembling and moving to the affected areas over the following 24 hours, the Pentagon said in a statement released Oct. 1 morning. 

The Pentagon’s statement said that the additional troops would join other servicemembers already supporting FEMA’s response and would include helicopters from the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy, and other aircraft from the U.S. Air Force. 

On Oct. 2, the Fort Liberty-based 18th Airborne Corps provided the North Carolina National Guard with seven Chinook helicopters that, by Oct. 3, were  delivering commodities and joining rescue and recovery efforts, a guard spokesperson said.

"These soldiers will be activated for as long as the mission requires," North Carolina National Guard spokesman Tim Marshburn said in a statement. "Leaders are actively engaged in planning the best way to use the engineers coming from our active component."

Soldiers who have been activated but not immediately deployed are "preparing with rehearsals and developing movement and load plans," Marshburn said.

Robinson made this claim in an Oct. 2 X post. Cooper attended a New York conference on climate change Sept. 25, a day before Helene made landfall in Florida. 

Amid campaign season, Robinson’s claim that Cooper was "hobnobbing with rich folks" could give readers the impression that Cooper was at a fundraiser. He was not. 

Cooper was one of many speakers — including zoologist Jane Goodall, NBC weathercaster Al Roker and Guyana President Mohamed Irfaan Ali — who spoke at the public event hosted by The New York Times. Cooper returned to North Carolina the same day. 

Cooper was preparing for a possible weather emergency Sept. 24, when he formally asked top members of the state’s executive branch for emergency powers. 

On Sept. 27, Robinson attended an event with the Republican Party of Moore County; a meet-and-greet at a Golden Corral restaurant in Laurinburg; an event at a Mexican restaurant in Rockingham and the Mayberry Truck Show in Mount Airy.