Hurricane Ida victims/Photo courtesy of CNN
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, has dispelled a falsehood that has spread about assistance for victims of Hurricane Ida. The rumor claimed that the agency was providing hotel rooms for those who were displaced. Instead, the agency suggests those needing assistance visit their website.
Hurricane Ida demolished neighborhoods in various Louisiana and Mississippi cities and the aftermath will take weeks to deal with. Many residents lost their homes as the storm ripped through the state. Louisiana’s power grid was destroyed.
Unfortunately, a rumor hit social media claiming that FEMA would be providing hotels for those in need of shelter.
FEMA took to their Twitter page to announced that the claim is false and that they would be starting a rumor control page for Hurricane Ida.
While FEMA does allow victims of natural disasters to apply for assistance, that help is
never guaranteed. The responses to their tweet were met with disappointment and expressed fear that the agency is repeating its mishandling of Hurricane Katrina.What FEMA calls “disaster fraud” is not uncommon and has been present after several natural disasters. Usually, they are ploys to get victims’ personal information such as social security numbers and bank account numbers.
However, it will be hard for people to reach FEMA’s website without power and the reimbursement programs the agency offers on its website are not feasible for those who don’t have the funds to pay the initial costs.
The agency has not publicly responded to the criticism.