The apocalypse of Hurricane Helene

Tuesday – when I was considering what to write for this column – was a busy news day. Iran attacked Israel. The port strike began. The debate between vice-presidential candidates J.D. Vance and Tim Walz took place. There was so much news that it was hard to focus.

But what hit me hardest were reports of Hurricane Helene damage starting to trickle in. Photo after photo, video after video, article after article, tragedy after tragedy – the level of catastrophic devastation has seldom been seen.

It was not limited to one city or state; it impacted an entire region. In what’s being called a grid apocalypse, approximately 370 electrical substations are out of service, and endless roads and bridges have been destroyed, hampering rescue and recovery efforts.

These are not things that can be fixed in a few days or even weeks. We’re talking years, folks. Years.

Through it all, there has been a conspicuous lack of response from the federal government. Joe Biden (still, in theory, the president) famously said, “We’ve given everything that we have,” and snarled “No” when asked if there are any more resources the federal government could be giving victims.

And that, dear readers, is apparently the extent to which those impacted by this storm can anticipate federal assistance. More specifically:

• Mayorkas says FEMA will run out of funds before hurricane season is over; agency spent $640.9 million on noncitizens in 2024

• Do the math: Kamala Harris brags about giving hurricane victims $750 after Ukraine got $2,900 per person

• Hurricane Helene victim speaks out against Kamala Harris admin: “There is no government aid”

• Bureaucracy is getting people killed. A helicopter pilot out of South Carolina who volunteered his support to help the flood-ravaged residents of NC has been threatened with arrest if he continues his rescue missions

• Kamala Harris faces growing scandal as administration fails to help hurricane victims

• Tearful woman in western North Carolina claims the media is not reporting on the true devastation of the area. She has seen bodies floating down the river, even babies, and says they cannot rely on the gov’t to help them

• So far this year, the United States has given: – $24,400,000,000 to Ukraine. – $11,300,000,000 to Israel. – $1,950,000,000 to Ethiopia. – $1,600,000,000 to Jordan. – $1,400,000,000 to Egypt. – $1,100,000,000 to Afghanistan. – $1,100,000,000 to Somalia. – $1,000,000,000 to Yemen. – $987,000,000 to Congo. – $896,000,000 to Syria. – $9,000 per illegal immigrant that has entered the U.S. And Americans who have lost everything to Hurricane Helene will be getting $750, courtesy of FEMA

• ‘Treasonous’: Biden-Harris spend billions on illegals, leaving disaster fund to help Americans empty

• Kamala will dole out disaster aid by race and gender

And on and on it goes.

Pete Buttigieg even grounded private drone flights of people attempting to deliver baby formula and insulin to those trapped by flood damage, frustrating and infuriating those trying to help.

Now there are reports that FEMA and the Harris-Biden regime are actually confiscating supplies, grounding planes and cutting off relief. Government agencies are purportedly appropriating privately donated relief provisions, then turning around and distributing it themselves, claiming they’re the ones responsible for the largesse, not private individuals or organizations. It doesn’t get much lower than that. The chutzpah of these people defies belief.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump – like a boss – was Johnny-on-the-spot in offering assistance to the hurricane victims – not only holding press conferences at the scene, but bringing in truckloads of relief supplies and teaming up with Franklin Graham’s Samaritan’s Purse charity to obtain more. He also set up his own GoFundMe with a goal of collecting $1 million (as of this writing, it’s topped $5 million).

Only when Trump made Biden and Harris look bad did the president and vice president finally consent to a few pathetic photo ops in storm-damaged areas. Frankly, at this point they weren’t impressing anyone.

Meanwhile, there are thousands of people and hundreds of organizations quietly working behind the scenes to get relief to the stricken population. People are packing supplies in on mules, steering food-laden boats through swamps, and applying chainsaws to downed trees. Others are flying the injured or stranded out via plane or helicopter. Yet others are opening their own homes or lending out RVs to the newly homeless. These, folks, are the true heroes of this catastrophe.

In a twist of irony, other aspects of the current administration’s agenda are showing their weaknesses as the extent of the storm’s damage continues to unfold. The insane push to electrify everything and the equally insane push toward a digital currency have no place during disasters. Spoiler alert: These things don’t work when the power is out.

Please consider making a donation to Samaritan’s Purse for hurricane relief. Click here to donate.

One victim, who goes by the handle of “Bossy Leah,” summed it up beautifully:

Things that helped me survive Helene:
– A gas car
– A gas stove
– A gas hot water heater
– A gas chainsaw
– Cash

Things that are/were useless during Helene:
– Electric cars
– Electric appliances
– Debit cards
– The city bus
– The government
– Diversity
– My tax dollars in Ukraine

– I Am Leah (@Bossy_Leah) October 1, 2024

When power is out, cash is king, as more than one store indicated. Ironically, on Wednesday, Bank of America reported massive outages, with people locked out of their accounts and/or showing balances of zero. While the issue was mostly resolved by the next day, it was an uneasy reminder of how dangerously vulnerable digital currencies are to hacking, glitches and power outages.

As for electric vehicles … well, I’m sure you saw the viral video during which a car spontaneously caught fire in a garage after getting dampened with salt water. Poof, another house destroyed.

I suppose if there’s a silver lining to this disaster, it pulled back the curtain and exposed the heartlessness of the Biden-Harris administration, the general inefficiency of federal bureaucracies and the dangers of sending so much of our money overseas. With the presidential election mere weeks away, the American people will remember that.

Soon enough, the catastrophic damage in the southeast will fall off the news media’s radar as other headlines take its place. That’s just the nature of the journalism beast. But the victims of this storm have YEARS of work ahead of them, rebuilding not just infrastructure, but lives. This will seldom make the news, but the hardship won’t end.

Please be generous. Donate to your favorite charity working toward victim relief.