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Hurricane Milton in the Gulf of Mexico is expected to strengthen into a major Category 4 storm and hit Florida on Wednesday. Hurricane Helene walloped the same region last month, then moved north to cause deadly flooding. As people in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee work to recover, they're hearing false rumors about the federal response. NPR's Jeff Brady reports.
JEFF BRADY, BYLINE: The conspiracies and false rumors online are flourishing.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: The entire town will be bulldozed over, bodies and all.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Government ain't coming to save you. Not now, not ever.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: They're sending $1 billion to wars.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #4: And if you don't pay back that $750 loan within a year, they're going to seize your property.
BRADY: Chimney Rock Village in North Carolina has been the subject of false claims that the government is taking over so the Biden administration can mine lithium there. It's among the rumors local officials and the Federal Emergency Management Agency are addressing directly. Another - no, FEMA can't seize your land if it's deemed unlivable. Haywood County Sheriff Bill Wilke got to the point at a press conference Friday.
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BILL WILKE: I would encourage the good residents of western North Carolina to turn that garbage off. You're harming the morale and the efforts of people who are out there, putting themselves in harm's way to help others who have been impacted.
BRADY: In Jonesborough, Tenn., volunteers removed hardwood floors from a house flooded by the Nolichucky River.
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BRADY: In one of the bedrooms, Mollie Freeman is filling garbage bags and says a lot of these rumors haven't reached her.
MOLLIE FREEMAN: Honestly, we've been in a bit of a internet black hole down here.
BRADY: But down the road, rumors are spreading at a bar that's been turned into a collection and distribution point for donated food and other necessities. Stacey Puzio owns the Green Turtle Garage Bar, and she's wearing a Trump t-shirt.
STACEY PUZIO: Pretty much all of my whole wardrobe is either Trump or Green Turtle, so (laughter) it's pretty much all I have (laughter).
BRADY: Her county voted for Donald Trump by a more than 2-to-1 margin in the 2020 election. She repeats several false rumors about the federal response to Helene. She says the government is absent, even though FEMA says there are nearly 7,000 federal employees deployed to the region.
PUZIO: Somebody mentioned that Harris was going to be gracious enough to send $750 to ease the strain of losing your loved one and your pets and your home, so I'm sure that'll make a huge difference for everybody.
BRADY: But that's just one of FEMA's programs for immediate help. Meantime, many here say they want to focus instead on how people are helping each other, regardless of politics.
Colt Truesdale organized a benefit concert in Mill Spring, N.C. He says it's no surprise people are confused by all the rumors swirling around.
COLT TRUESDALE: Everywhere FEMA's went during disasters in America, there's been, like, negative issues surrounding them.
BRADY: Truesdale has been delivering supplies to people isolated in the mountains, who he says are skeptical of outsiders. That's something FEMA may have to overcome to help people affected by Helene, in addition to the misinformation.
Jeff Brady, NPR News, Johnson City, Tenn. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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