FEMA responds to devastation from Helene

AccuWeather

FEMA is in multiple states following Helene, dealing with search and rescues after historic flooding. Leiloni Stainsby explains how they are assisting with such a major disaster.

Transcript

00:00FEMA is the Federal Emergency Management Agency. They are helping in recovering in multiple states

00:06following Helene. Elani Stansby is the FEMA National Response Coordination Center in Washington,

00:12D.C. Thanks so much for joining us. And we know North Carolina is dealing with historic flooding.

00:18So what's FEMA's response there? And is the search and rescue still continuing?

00:24Absolutely. Thanks for having me today. And I will say, first and foremost, that our hearts

00:28go out to everybody impacted by this storm. As you said, it really has been a catastrophic

00:34situation on the ground in every state that's been impacted. And so if I could, for just a

00:41moment, I'd like to first and foremost start off by saying for anybody impacted by the storm that

00:46needs assistance, especially in Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina, we would urge them

00:53to register for disaster assistance with FEMA by calling 800-621-3362. Using our app or going

01:00to a disasterassistance.gov. Down on the ground in North Carolina, we also have over 1,200 urban

01:08search and rescue team members who are out there working with the state, going community by

01:13community to make sure that we understand who needs help, that we are there to make sure that

01:21those who need to be rescued are rescued, and that people who need assistance get assistance

01:27as soon as possible. Our administrator is on the ground today in North Carolina working with the

01:32governor to make sure that we fully understand the needs on the ground and that we are there

01:38to bring the entire force of the federal government to bear in order to help these people in their

01:44time of great need. And what will FEMA's response priority be in the next several days? You have a

01:53large area where a lot of people need help. Absolutely. And you know, really first and

01:59foremost, life safety and stabilizing the situation on the ground is our number one

02:05priority in each of these affected communities. That means conducting those search and rescue

02:11operations to make sure that people are safe. That means bringing in power as quickly as possible,

02:18clearing the roadways to make sure that those power companies can get in and do their jobs to

02:24start to bring the power back online, and also to make sure that food and water are flowing into

02:32those affected communities. We pre-staged resources in advance of the storm to make sure that as soon

02:40as the storm passed, we were able to get in and food and water are available for people and that

02:46we make sure that we're also focusing in on communications. We've been bringing in communication

02:51systems to help municipalities to make sure that since there is no power and the communication

02:56systems are down, we start to bring those up so that we can make sure that everybody who needs

03:01help can get it. And Elani, about 30 seconds left, if you could just repeat the way that people

03:05can now register and get the help they need, and then we'll close out the show. Absolutely. If you

03:10could go to 1-800-621-3362 and register for FEMA assistance, you can go to

03:18disasterassistance.gov or to FEMA's website. And if you need additional assistance, there's always

03:23the Red Cross. You can call 1-800-733-2767 to get any support that you need. Elani Staines B. Depart,

03:32Deputy Associate Administrator of FEMA. We appreciate all of the information and

03:36AccuWeather. Early returns right after this break. Thank you.

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