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US disaster relief chief blasts false claims about Helene response as a 'truly dangerous narrative'

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US disaster relief chief blasts false claims about Helene response as a 'truly dangerous narrative'
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US disaster relief chief blasts false claims about Helene response as a 'truly dangerous narrative'

2024-10-07 03:35 Last Updated At:03:40

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government’s top disaster relief official said Sunday that false claims and conspiracy theories about the federal response to Hurricane Helene — spread most prominently by Donald Trump — are “demoralizing” aid workers and creating fear in people who need recovery assistance.

“It’s frankly ridiculous, and just plain false. This kind of rhetoric is not helpful to people,” said Deanne Criswell, who leads the Federal Emergency Management Agency. “It’s really a shame that we’re putting politics ahead of helping people, and that’s what we’re here to do. We have had the complete support of the state,” she said, referring to North Carolina.

Republicans, led by the former president, have helped foster a frenzy of misinformation over the past week among the communities most devastated by Helene, promoting a number of false claims, including that Washington is intentionally withholding aid to people in Republican areas.

Trump accused FEMA of spending all its money to help immigrants who are in the United States illegally, while other critics assert that the government spends too much on Israel, Ukraine and other foreign countries.

"FEMA absolutely has enough money for Helene response right now,” Keith Turi, acting director of FEMA’s Office of Response and Recovery said. He noted that Congress recently replenished the agency with $20 billion, and about $8 billion of that is set aside for recovery from previous storms and mitigation projects.

There also are outlandish theories that include warnings from far-right extremist groups that officials plan to bulldoze storm-damaged communities and seize the land from residents. A falsehood pushed by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., asserts that Washington used weather control technology to steer Helene toward Republican voters in order to tilt the presidential election toward Democrat Kamala Harris.

Criswell said on ABC's “This Week” that such baseless claims around the response to Helene, which caused catastrophic damage from Florida into the Appalachian mountains and a death toll that rose Sunday to at least 230, have created a sense of fear and mistrust from residents against the thousands of FEMA employees and volunteers on the ground.

“We’ve had the local officials helping to push back on this dangerous -- truly dangerous narrative that is creating this fear of trying to reach out and help us or to register for help,” she said.

President Joe Biden said in a statement Sunday that his administration “will continue working hand-in-hand with local and state leaders –- regardless of political party and no matter how long it takes.”

Meantime, FEMA is preparing for Hurricane Milton, which rapidly intensified into a Category 1 storm on Sunday as it heads toward Florida.

“We’re working with the state there to understand what their requirements are going to be, so we can have those in place before it makes landfall,” she said.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, right, and Deanne Criswell, Administrator of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, await the arrival of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris for a briefing on the damage from Hurricane Helene, at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Saturday, October 5, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, right, and Deanne Criswell, Administrator of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, await the arrival of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris for a briefing on the damage from Hurricane Helene, at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Saturday, October 5, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

US disaster relief chief blasts false claims about Helene response as a 'truly dangerous narrative'

US disaster relief chief blasts false claims about Helene response as a 'truly dangerous narrative'

President Joe Biden talks with Deanne Criswell, Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), as he arrives at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport in Greer, S.C., Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, to survey damage from Hurricane Helene. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

President Joe Biden talks with Deanne Criswell, Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), as he arrives at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport in Greer, S.C., Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, to survey damage from Hurricane Helene. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

US disaster relief chief blasts false claims about Helene response as a 'truly dangerous narrative'

US disaster relief chief blasts false claims about Helene response as a 'truly dangerous narrative'

LITITZ, Pa. (AP) — Three of the five people injured in a single-engine plane crash in central Pennsylvania over the weekend were sent from a Lancaster hospital to a burn center for treatment, authorities said Monday.

Two patients were flown to the Lehigh Valley Health Network's burn center and a third was driven there by ambulance, according to a spokesman for Lancaster General Hospital, where all five occupants were taken immediately after the crash. The other two patients were released Sunday night from Lancaster General, he said in an email.

The plane burst into flames as it crashed shortly after takeoff Sunday from Lancaster Airport and was destroyed. It landed in a parking lot of the Brethren Village retirement community in Lititz, some 75 miles (121 kilometers) west of Philadelphia.

Lehigh Valley Health Network spokeswoman Jamie Stover said she was not permitted to confirm that her facility treated anyone without first being told the patients' names, which authorities have not released.

The Beechcraft Bonanza plane, registered to Jam Zoom Yayos LLC in Manheim, not far from the airport, went down just after 3 p.m. No one was killed in the fiery crash and no one was injured on the ground, the Federal Aviation Administration said. FlightAware said the plane was headed to Springfield, Ohio.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it has opened an investigation and is working with the FAA, which it said has someone at the site to examine it and gather documentation. Investigators will look into the pilot, the aircraft and the operating environment, the NTSB said. That will include gathering recordings of air traffic control communications, flight tracking data, witness statements, surveillance video and aircraft maintenance records.

A preliminary report is expected within 30 days of the accident, while an investigation can take 12 to 24 months to complete, it said.

A message seeking comment was left Monday for the airport’s operations director.

Witness Brian Pipkin was driving when he noticed the plane veer to its left.

“And then it went down nose first,” Pipkin said Sunday. “There was an immediate fireball.” He called 911.

Air traffic control audio captured the pilot reporting that the aircraft “has an open door, we need to return for a landing.” An air traffic controller is heard clearing the plane to land, before saying, “Pull up!” Moments later, someone can be heard saying the aircraft was “down just behind the terminal in the parking lot street area.”

Debris is seen after a plane crashed in a parking lot of a retirement community Sunday, March 9, 2025, in Manheim Township, Pa. (Zach Gleiter/The Patriot-News via AP)

Debris is seen after a plane crashed in a parking lot of a retirement community Sunday, March 9, 2025, in Manheim Township, Pa. (Zach Gleiter/The Patriot-News via AP)

Debris is seen after a plane crashed in a parking lot of a retirement community Sunday, March 9, 2025, in Manheim Township, Pa. (Zach Gleiter/The Patriot-News via AP)

Debris is seen after a plane crashed in a parking lot of a retirement community Sunday, March 9, 2025, in Manheim Township, Pa. (Zach Gleiter/The Patriot-News via AP)

A plane crashed in a parking lot of a Manheim Township, Pa., retirement community, less than a mile south of Lancaster Airport, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (Zach Gleiter/The Patriot-News via AP)

A plane crashed in a parking lot of a Manheim Township, Pa., retirement community, less than a mile south of Lancaster Airport, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (Zach Gleiter/The Patriot-News via AP)

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