FEMA apologizes after failing to deliver promised trailers to Helene survivors in North Carolina

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – A spokesperson for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, apologized Wednesday in response to a question from WBTV about why the agency failed to deliver dozens of trailers to North Carolina residents displaced by Hurricane Helene.

Our questions came after a FEMA spokesperson told WBTV the week of Thanksgiving that the agency would deliver a total of 103 temporary or portable trailer homes to families in North Carolina by the end of that week. At the time, FEMA had delivered 27 homes.

By Wednesday, Dec. 4, FEMA had still only delivered 46 homes — well short of the number of promised trailers.

WBTV learned that more than 500 families have been approved for a FEMA travel trailer or manufactured home in the wake of Helene. The agency’s slow deployment of the homes means hundreds of families are weathering the snow and freezing temperatures currently hitting the North Carolina mountains.

Despite that, a FEMA spokesperson initially struck an upbeat tune in an interview with WBTV on Nov. 26. The spokesperson then doubled down on a promise to deliver homes to the more than 500 families who have requested one.

“There could be 500 of these eventually given out?” a WBTV reporter asked.

“Here’s the beautiful part about it, the answer is ‘yes,’ and we’ve done even more. So we can handle it,” said FEMA Media Relations Specialist La-Tanga Hopes.

On Wednesday — after WBTV continued to press for answers about why the agency had fallen so short of its promised 103-trailer delivery goal by Thanksgiving weekend — a FEMA spokesperson called and apologized.

The FEMA spokesperson said they had miscommunication within the agency and will caution against disseminating information with methods other than written communication in the future.

The FEMA spokesperson also told WBTV that the agency will not be issuing timelines for the delivery of the homes anymore because it is too difficult to confirm a timeline. They said that was, in part, because of the necessary utilities not being confirmed at the planned site, the weather conditions, roads being open, and the recipient showing at the scheduled time.

FEMA said there were 100 temporary homes in North Carolina, as of Wednesday. Forty-six had been delivered and the keys had been handed over to the survivor. Other homes were either undergoing a final inspection, in route to delivery, or waiting for the destination to be ready.

WBTV will continue pressing the agency for answers and track the agency’s delivery of homes to families in Western North Carolina.

Survivors of Hurricane Helene have until Jan. 7, 2025 to apply for disaster relief.

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