"Hurricane Helene's recent destruction has highlighted the importance of the next president's approach to disaster relief"
"The devastation across the southeastern United States wrought by Hurricane Helene has brought the federal government's emergency response apparatus into focus ahead of the November election as authorities work to pick up the pieces.
With rebuilding in North Carolina, Georgia and elsewhere likely to take months, if not years, the responsibility will eventually fall to either Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump, one of whom will replace President Joe Biden in January.
Still reeling from Helene, the United States is also now bracing for Hurricane Milton, showing how frequent extreme weather conditions have become.
Under Biden, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has taken significant steps to promote resilience ahead of disasters and streamline the federal disaster aid process – policies that could well continue should Harris get elected.
During his first term, Trump's decisions on disaster relief were widely controversial. He tried to steer federal disaster funds toward other priorities, like border security, and famously shot paper towels into a crowd of residents in Puerto Rico impacted by Hurricane Maria in 2017."
David Sherfinski reports for Thomson Reuters Foundation October 8, 2024.
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