WASHINGTON — The rumors surrounding Hurricane Helene are many. There are false claims that individuals taking federal reduction cash may see their land seized. Or that $750 is probably the most they are going to ever get to rebuild. Or that the company’s director — on the bottom because the storm hit — was crushed up and hospitalized.
As the U.S. company tasked with responding to disasters, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been preventing misinformation since Helene slammed into Florida almost two weeks in the past and introduced a large swath of destruction because it headed north. The false claims are being fueled by former President Donald Trump and others simply forward of the presidential election, and are coming because the company is gearing up to answer a second main catastrophe: Hurricane Milton is ready to strike Florida on Wednesday.