North Carolina officials are blaming themselves and state staffing shortages for problems related to Hurricane Helene in October.
A 50-page analysis released Friday by the North Carolina Department of Public Safety provides the first detailed analysis of state failures in a disaster that President Donald Trump has invoked to assail the Federal Emergency Management Agency — and to suggest that it be eliminated.
North Carolina’s “Hurricane Helene After Action Review” does not mention FEMA and focuses exclusively on shortcomings by state and local emergency management agencies.
The report includes a section on disinformation, which was rampant in western North Carolina during the hurricane and in its wake, as overflowing streams demolished thousands of homes, buildings and pieces of infrastructure.
