Hurricane survivors rip into Trump as he causes 3-mile traffic gridlock for photo op Several people have complained about the traffic on X, Reddit, and other social media platforms about Trump's decision to hold an event in a heavily impacted area. https://www.the-express.com/news/us-news/152360/donald-trump-hurricane-helene-north-carolina
More positive recovery news... Grandfather Mountain reopening Wednesday weeks after Helene Grandfather Mountain will reopen Wednesday, Oct. 23, weeks after it was shut due to the impact of Hurricane Helene. https://www.wral.com/weather/grandfather-mountain-reopening-hurricane-helene-impact/
Let's see what residents of the North Carolina think of Trump. ‘Never Hated Him More’: North Carolina Residents Furious as They Say Donald Trump’s Visit Prevented Locals from Getting Medication and Water In the Aftermath of Hurricane Helene https://atlantablackstar.com/2024/1...they-say-donald-trumps-visit-shut-down-roads/
Interesting use of AI to enable disaster relief payments from a non-profit organization. AI being used to send households hit by Helene and Milton $1K cash relief payments Some hurricane-damaged households in North Carolina and Florida will receive one-time, direct cash payments of up to $1,500. https://abc11.com/post/disaster-rel...-hurricanes-helene-milton-1000-cash/15468566/ Nearly 1,000 hurricane-impacted households in North Carolina and Florida will benefit this week from a new disaster aid program that employs a model not commonly used by philanthropy in the United States: Giving people rapid, direct cash payments. The nonprofit GiveDirectly plans to send payments of $1,000 on Friday to some households impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. The organization harnesses a Google-developed artificial intelligence tool to pinpoint areas with high concentrations of poverty and storm damage. On Tuesday, it invited people in those areas to enroll in the program through a smartphone app used to manage SNAP and other government benefits. Donations will then be deposited through the app's debit card. The approach is meant to deliver aid "in as streamlined and dignified a way as possible," said Laura Keen, a senior program manager at GiveDirectly. It removes much of the burden of applying, and is intended to empower people to decide for themselves what their most pressing needs are. It won't capture everyone who needs help - but GiveDirectly hopes the program can be a model that makes disaster aid faster and more effective. "We're always trying to grow the share of disaster response that is delivered as cash, whether that is by FEMA or private actors," said Keen. The influx of clothing, blankets, and food that typically arrive after a disaster can fill real needs, but in-kind donations can't cover getting a hotel room during an evacuation, or childcare while schools are closed. "There is an elegance to cash that allows individuals in these types of circumstances to resolve their unique needs, which are sure to be very different from the needs of their neighbors," said Keen. She added that getting money into people's hands fast can protect them from predatory lending and curb credit card debt. The organization employs direct payments for poverty relief around the world, but it first experimented with cash disaster payments in the U.S. in 2017, when it gave money to households impacted by Hurricane Harvey in Texas and Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. Back then, GiveDirectly enrolled people in person and handed out debit cards activated later. The process took a few weeks. Now that work is done in days - remotely. A Google team uses its SKAI machine-based learning tool to narrow down the worst-hit areas by comparing pre- and post-disaster aerial imagery. GiveDirectly uses another Google-developed tool to compare those findings with poverty data. It sends the target areas to Propel, an electronic benefits transfers app, which invites users in those places to enroll. "They don't have to find a bunch of documentation that proves their eligibility," Keen said. "We already know they're eligible." Still, focusing on areas with lots of damaged buildings won't pick up all low-income households devastated by a disaster. Nor will reaching out to those already signed up for government benefits, as not all poor people enroll in them, and undocumented residents aren't eligible for them. People without smartphones can't access the app. Propel serves only 5 million of the 41 million people enrolled in SNAP benefits. In North Carolina, where electricity in some communities has still not been restored after Hurricane Helene, having a smartphone makes no difference without a way to power it and a signal to connect to. Keen said GiveDirectly is aware of this model's shortcomings. She said some can be alleviated with a hybrid model that uses both remote and in-person enrollment. But the limitations also come down to funding. So far, GiveDirectly has raised $1.2 million for this campaign, including a $300,000 donation from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. Despite the pitfalls, GiveDirectly hopes its model sparks ideas for other direct payment programs. FEMA overhauled its own cash relief program, called Serious Needs Assistance, in January. The agency increased the payments from $500 to $750 ($770 with the start of the new fiscal year on Oct. 1) and eliminated the requirement that states request the aid first. Across all Helene- and Milton-impacted states, more than 693,000 households have received Serious Needs Assistance as of Oct. 24 for a total spend of more than $522 million, according to a FEMA spokesperson. But the program still requires households to apply, which proved problematic when misinformation about the program ran rampant in the weeks after Helene. In places with high costs of living, the $750 might not go very far. Technology could help FEMA improve its system, said Chris Smith, who managed FEMA's Individual Assistance program from 2015 to 2022 and is now director of individual assistance and disaster housing at the consulting firm IEM. "I think that we have to open up our imaginations that maybe there are other ways to quickly identify need and quickly identify eligibility." But Smith cautions that a publicly funded program doesn't enjoy the same license to experiment as a philanthropic one. "There has to be ultimately an accountability of how any level of government is providing assistance to individuals. People are going to want to know that, and to have that degree of certainty is very important." The government has experimented with other types of unconditional cash assistance, such as when it expanded the child tax credit into a monthly direct deposit payment in 2021. That program briefly cut the child poverty rate almost by half before it expired. Research on guaranteed income programs shows recipients spend the money on their needs, said Stacia West, founding director at the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Guaranteed Income Research. "There is no one who can budget better than a person in poverty," she said. In a study tracking spending across 9,000 participants in more than 30 guaranteed income programs in the U.S., the Center for Guaranteed Income Research has found that the majority of the money is spent on retail goods, food and groceries, and transportation. West said one-time cash payments can be a huge help to families recovering from a disaster, but the money can make a more profound difference if it's given for a sustained time. That has happened in two U.S. disasters. In 2016, Dolly Parton funded a program that gave $1,000 per month for six months to people in Tennessee who lost their homes in the Great Smoky Mountains wildfires. The People's Fund of Maui, a program sponsored by Oprah and Dwayne Johnson, gave 8,100 adults affected by the 2023 Maui wildfires $1,200 month for six months. Keen said GiveDirectly would love to implement such a program if it had the funding, especially because long-term assistance could help people build future resilience. "So you're not only repairing your home, but also fortifying it to a level that is more protected against the next time."
A North Carolina Helene update. 98 people are dead and 10 are still missing. The damage amounts to over $50 Billion. Cooper: 98 in NC dead from Helene, estimated damage at $53 billion North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper gave an update on the number of lives lost from Hurricane Helene and commended the spirit of western North Carolinians for their handling of the tragedy. https://www.wral.com/news/state/helene-north-carolina-deaths-damage-totals/
I think both parties should reflect the new state of American politics. Trump counties should wait until January to get aid. Until then they can stay homeless and cold.
I believe you are saying this in jest -- just to reflect the state of politics in the U.S. with Trump running for office. However in North Carolina we believe that all of these mountain counties impacted by Helene should get aid as soon as possible -- irrespective of their political leanings -- in order to get back on their feet as soon as possible. Tremendous progress has been made in restoring power, roads, water and other vital services. Universities and K-12 schools are opened up and roads are being repaired. Yet there is much more to do.
The Republican Senator, Thom Tillis, from North Carolina was about to kick Rand Paul's ass on the Senate floor today. They should call in Rand Paul's neighbor to complete the job. 'Order in the Senate!' Sparks fly as Rand Paul derails GOP-backed hurricane relief bill https://www.rawstory.com/thom-tillis-rand-paul/
For some follow-up news with a local connection. Directly after the storm, a local Baptist church near us was a primary collection center for food, sanitation (wipes, cleaning items, etc.) and water supplies being sent to the mountains -- the supplies were sent to two Baptist churches located in different mountain towns. There was also an option online to directly donate money to disaster relief effort accounts associated with the churches. Unfortunately it turns out that a pastor at one of the churches in the mountains stole the donated money and church money plus some donated equipment (generators, etc.) and spent it on himself according to a report from the McDowell County Sheriff's Department. The good news is that all the food and water that was donated was distributed properly in the early days. Former pastor stole ‘large amounts of cash’ intended for Helene relief, NC sheriff says https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article298734998.html .
Let's catch up with the latest on the Helene recovery in North Carolina. The Trump administration has cut off and stopped paying FEMA funds to North Carolina since they consider our state to be "blue" because we have a governor who is a Democrat -- despite having a Republican majority state legislature. The Trump Administration Just Violated Another Court Order It gets worse: The order found that the administration was covertly withholding millions in FEMA funds from blue states. https://newrepublic.com/post/193650/trump-administration-just-violated-another-court-order? The Trump administration also cut off the processing of FEMA applications from impacted citizens of North Carolina. Trump’s FEMA Refuses to Fund North Carolina’s Hurricane Recovery https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-fema-rejects-north-carolinas-hurricane-recovery-funds/ The Trump administration's FEMA additionally denied North Carolina’s request to continue matching 100% of the state’s spending on Hurricane Helene recovery. FEMA will stop matching 100% of Helene recovery money in North Carolina Gov. Stein: ‘I am extremely disappointed and urge the President to reconsider FEMA’s bad decision, even for 90 days.’ https://ncnewsline.com/2025/04/12/f...00-of-helene-recovery-money-in-nc-stein-says/ I will also note the Trump administration cut off federal department of transportation funding to rebuild federal highways such as Interstate 40 which had a portion washed away in North Carolina from Helene. The funding for the repairs to these federal roads is now solely on our state. In March, our Democratic governor and Republican legislature mutually agreed to and came together on a package for an additional $500 Million in Helene recovery funding. Keep in mind nearly all of this money goes to red districts. Unlike Trump, Governor Stein is not punishing areas that primarily support the other party. Gov. Stein signs $500 million Helene recovery bill after it finally passes NC legislature https://www.wunc.org/politics/2025-03-19/helene-recovery-bill-passes-nc-legislature