Written by 4/C Natalie Frasca

Today, Friday January 30th we started the day by visiting the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). At FEMA we had the opportunity to listen to a presentation from FEMA’s Interagency Recovery Coordination (IRC) team. We also got the opportunity to listen in on two briefings to show the recovery progress on Hurricane Helene as well as Tropical Storm Chantel. These briefings show progress towards a goal and if they are going to meet it. If they are off track to meet their goal they see why and what they can do differently to get back on track. They look at if they need more resources, more money or even more volunteers to make this achievable to get back on track. I was a little shocked to learn in the briefings that any funding for a project over $100,000 has to be approved by the Department of Homeland Security. This showed me how they are trying to make this extremely hard for FEMA because most projects are over this limit. This makes the process for FEMA a whole lot longer because they have to wait for the approval. After our visit to FEMA we then headed to Chimney Rock and met the fire chief from the Town of Lake Lure with a population of around 1,300 people. On our ride there, we were able to see all of the erosion from Hurricane Helene which caused many houses to collapse. On this ride there were also thousands of dead fallen trees which is a hazard because this could cause a landslide or even a possible wildfire which is extremely dangerous. When talking to the Fire Chief after this drive, he has a very heartfelt story to share from Hurricane Helene that really hit home for me. He explained a situation where he had to turn a pilot away because he was blocking a major exit from the town. The pilot made a TikTok making the Chief look like he was in the wrong which caused him to receive death threats. For the safety of his family he had to send his children to live somewhere else for a while until the situation tamed. This shows how you can not believe everything you see online. I really felt the pain of the Chief and his kids because during Covid-19 my mom was a nurse working with elderly covid patients. My sister and I were separated from my mom for a few months which made us extremely upset considering no one really understood the extent of Covid-19 early on. I can’t even imagine what the Chief and his family were feeling. This really makes me believe that the media truly does spread more harm than good.