The truth is always somewhere in the middle.
From first-hand accounts plus some clarification :
1. FEMA doesn’t have active workers clearing anything that I can find (if they ever did in their history). Their reps on the ground have said they’re present to help people get the monetary assistance they need. Definitely some poor planning to have an app/website as the main way of doing that.
FEMA’s mission statement says they should be coordinating relief efforts, but I’ve seen no sign they are, or that they’re capable of doing it (and not sure you would want them to.). All the “boots on the ground” stats they’ve released definitely include other government groups like National Guard/military, and I think they’re including a lot of volunteer efforts (not sure if it’s all). If there’s an organized overall HQ in the impacted area, no one in the national media or independent journalists has found it that I’ve seen. Contrast to the coverage when a general landed in New Orleans post-Katrina.
Given the interview with the Hickory Rock local government officials, someone in the North Carolina DOT (whether local or at the state level) had a plan quickly, and has been executing it.
2. There was definitely some sort of stoppage/restriction on flights impacting volunteer flights. I think there were actually two events, being Biden’s overflight, and another being someone (can’t tell if it was FEMA) attempting to get guidelines in place for the area. Both appeared to slow relief efforts, but I think temporarily.
3. The only first-hand accounts I can find of FEMA “seizing” anything was involving StarLink, and it sounded more like blocking/delaying and potentially claiming credit for than seizing.
4. There are first-hand accounts of supplies being turned down by “logistics directors”, in one case saying the group onsite (FEMA was not named) told the delivery convoy to come back in 24 hours when they’d be ready to take and distribute supplies. The response has generally been volunteer groups telling each other to deliver to churches as a first choice.
More than one locale has said they're at storage capacity now, but will need a steady stream of supplies in the days to come.
5. The number of helicopter flights cited by FEMA this weekend sounded abysmally low given military assets in North Carolina. Either there was a ton of activity not being recorded, or there needs to be some very difficult discussions afterwards. You shouldn't need mule trains in modern America...we have Chinooks.
6. The media coverage of Katrina vs this seems night and day. I know Asheville isn’t New Orleans, but I would have expected every news channel to be camped out in Asheville over the past week.
The best case scenario would be that none of them can afford to do so anymore. Also, remember the criticism W faced for waiting until day 3 to fly over the area impacted by Katrina?
They may also have simply decided not to visit places like Hickory Rock until the DOT reopens each city.
www.fema.gov
