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North Carolina Republican pushes back on hurricane misinformation: “Nobody can control the weather”
Washington — Rep. Chuck Edwards, a North Carolina Republican, sent a letter to his constituents debunking the misinformation and conspiracy theories that have spread in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, telling them, “Nobody can control the weather.”
Edwards, who represents western North Carolina, which was devastated by Hurricane Helene, urged his constituents not to believe everything they see on social media and noted there’s been an increase in “untrustworthy sources trying to spark chaos by sharing hoaxes, conspiracy theories, and hearsay about hurricane response efforts across our mountains.”
“Please make sure you are fact checking what you read online with a reputable source,” he wrote.
Some of the most bizarre conspiracy theories that have spread online claimed politicians manipulated the weather to target Republicans areas in the battleground state and that the federal government was trying to seize land in the town of Chimney Rock to mine lithium.
“Hurricane Helene was NOT geoengineered by the government to seize and access lithium deposits in Chimney Rock,” Edwards said, adding that there is no technology that can geoengineer a hurricane and local officials confirmed the government is not taking control of the town.
He also denied that local officials were abandoning search and rescue efforts to bulldoze the town, that the Federal Emergency Management Agency was blocking donations from reaching survivors and diverting disaster funding to the border and foreign aid. The federal agency could not seize residents’ property and the Federal Aviation Administration is not restricting access to airspace for search and recovery operations, he said.
Edwards also reassured his constituents that FEMA would not run out of funds to assist the area with its recovery efforts. He said residents may be eligible for more than the $750 of immediate assistance that FEMA provides to survivors to help cover essential items while the agency determines if their eligibility for additional funds.
Former President Donald Trump is among those who have made misleading claims about federal disaster relief, falsely alleging that the Biden administration distributed most of FEMA’s funds to undocumented migrants. He also falsely claimed that storm victims were only being offered $750 in aid.
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Scope of Hurricane Milton damage emerges as power outages and fuel shortages remain in Florida
Florida residents repaired damage from Hurricane Milton and cleaned up debris Friday after the storm smashed through coastal communities and tore homes to pieces, flooded streets and spawned a barrage of deadly tornadoes. At least 16 people deaths are linked to the storm, officials told CBS News.
Arriving just two weeks after the devastating Hurricane Helene, the system flooded barrier islands, tore the roof off the Tampa Bay Rays’ baseball stadium and toppled a construction crane. Dozens of rescues have been conducted across the area.
Tampa evacuee Lillian Bicart, 80, told “CBS Mornings” that flooding severely damaged her home.
“I have to sit down and think what I’m going to do, because I lose everything, everything too wet,” Bicart said. “I never think about this. This is a bad dream, very bad.”
Tornadoes also left a swath of damage across Central and Southern Florida.
“Even with the hurricanes, it’s never been this bad ever,” Jashanti Williams, whose family hid in the bathroom as the tornadoes ripped through the neighborhood, told “CBS Mornings.”
As residents assessed damage to their property, over 2.5 million customers in Florida remained without power Friday morning, according to poweroutage.us.
A flood of vehicles headed south Thursday evening on Interstate 75, the main highway that runs through the middle of the state, as relief workers and evacuated residents returned to assess the aftermath. Bucket trucks and fuel tankers streamed by, along with portable bathroom trailers and a convoy of emergency vehicles.
As residents raced back to find out whether their homes were destroyed or spared, finding gas was still a challenge. Fuel stations were still closed as far away as Ocala, more than a two and a half hour drive north of where the storm made landfall as a Category 3 near Siesta Key in Sarasota County on Wednesday night.
Natasha Ducre and her husband, Terry, were just feeling lucky to be alive. Milton peeled the tin roof off of their cinderblock home in their neighborhood a few blocks north of the Manatee River, about a 45-minute drive south of Tampa. She pushed to leave as the storm barreled toward them Wednesday night after he resisted evacuating their three-bedroom house where he grew up and where the couple lived with their three kids and two grandchildren. She believes the decision saved their lives.
They returned to find the roof of their home scattered in sheets across the street, the wooden beams of what was their ceiling exposed to the sky. Inside, fiberglass insulation hung down in shreds, their belongings soaked by the rain and littered with chunks of shattered drywall.
“It ain’t much, but it was ours. What little bit we did have is gone,” she said. “It’s gone.”
With shelters no longer available and the cost of a hotel room out of reach, they plan to cram into Terry Ducre’s mother’s house for now. After that, they’re not sure.
“I don’t have no answers,” Natasha Ducre said. “What is my next move? What am I going to do?”
Meanwhile, Florida theme parks including Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld planned to reopen Friday after an assessment of the effects of the storm.
Orlando International Airport, the state’s busiest, said departures for domestic flights and international flights would resume Friday, after resuming domestic arrivals Thursday evening. The airport had minor damage, including a few leaks and downed trees.
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