FEMA failed to answer nearly half of the calls for assistance, aid it received during Hurricanes Helen and Milton: report

The Federal Emergency Management Agency failed to answer nearly half of the calls for aid and assistance it recently received during Hurricanes Helene and Milton, a report released this week shows.

During a recent week, FEMA’s call centers were so overwhelmed, almost half of all callers never connected with a federal working, according to data released this week.

And it took federal agents on average more than an hour to actually pick up those calls that were answered.

Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, stands with North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper as he gives an update on storm recovery efforts. Joe Rondone / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Tornado damage during Hurricane Milton overturned this truck in Florida. Greg Lovett/The Palm Beach Post / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The damning report comes as the Harris-Biden administration has been slammed by conservatives for its response to disaster relief after Hurricanes Helene and Milton slammed into Florida, North Carolina and other southern states.

One man seeking help after his North Carolina home was flooded called FEMA and got a recording that said he was 675th in line.

On Wednesday, FEMA reported sending $1.2 billion in relief to hurricane survivors in the six most damaged states. 

More than 100 people died in North Carolina during Hurricane Helene.

Damage caused by flooding from Hurricane Helene is seen around Impact Plastics in Erwin, Tennessee. AP

Another 229 people were killed across seven states thanks to Helene.

A month after the hurricanes pounded the lower portion of the United States, FEMA officials admitted the agency is understaffed.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas recently acknowledged FEMA “does not have the funds” to see Americans through the rest of the Atlantic Hurricane season.

The department’s critics have noted DHS earmarked $640.9 million this year in FEMA-administered funds to aid state and local governments coping with the influx of asylum seekers.

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell speaks to members of the press during a visit to a Community Care Station in Asheville, N.C. Jasper Colt / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Those immigrant-allocated funds cannot be distributed to hurricane victims, as Congress apportioned those funds specifically to address the migrant crisis.

On Friday, former President Donald Trump chided what he called the “terrible” federal response to Hurricane Helene, as outraged critics aired allegations that relief workers are sitting idle without orders.

FEMA has been struggling to respond to disasters since 2005, when Hurricane Katrina killed close to 1,400 people in Louisiana.

New York and New Jersey residents also had trouble getting through to FEMA workers in 2012 following the devastation of Hurricane Sandy.