This fact check originally appeared on PolitiFact.
Relief and rescue efforts continue in North Carolina after Hurricane Helene, but one person claimed President Joe Biden has not helped the majority of the affected counties because he didn’t win them in 2020.
Isabella Maria DeLuca, a social media influencer who was charged with storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, posted Oct. 6 on Instagram and X saying, “Out of the 28 North Carolina counties destroyed by Hurricane Helene, 26 of them supported President Trump in the 2020 election— with 527,000 votes for Trump and 113,000 votes for Biden. If you’re wondering why the government hasn’t helped these people, now you know why.”
The Instagram post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
The claim disregards that federal aid was granted to the affected North Carolina counties and omits context about how the government directs aid to disaster-affected areas.
Major disaster declarations are made through a declaration process outlined in the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. A natural catastrophe is designated a major disaster if the president determines that the damage is beyond what the state and local governments are equipped to handle. States take steps toward making these determinations by preliminarily assessing damage — surveying the disaster’s extent and submitting a request to the president.
During severe events, the governor may make the request before the preliminary damage assessment.
Section 401 of the Stafford Act says that, “All requests for a declaration by the President that a major disaster exists shall be made by the Governor of the affected State.”
North Carolina’s Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, requested a federal major disaster declaration Sept. 27; Biden approved it the next day. The initial declaration granted federal aid to the federally recognized tribe the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the following 25 counties:
Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes and Yancey.
The declaration granted assistance to people and households and for the rebuilding of disaster-damaged facilities. Also, all North Carolina areas qualified for the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which covers spending for measures to mitigate future losses.
The post said 26 out of 28 counties supported Trump in the 2020 election. We checked the 28 disaster designated areas — 25 counties and tribal areas in three counties — and found that Trump won all but two counties. All 25 counties and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians were included in the initial disaster aid declaration.
The declaration said “additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further damage assessments.”
As of Oct. 6, FEMA said the Biden administration had already provided $137 million in aid to Hurricane Helene survivors. FEMA said it has provided 14.9 million meals, 3.6 million gallons of water, 157 generators and more than 505,000 tarps to storm-affected regions in the Southeast. Nearly 7,000 federal employees have been deployed.
In North Carolina, FEMA provided more than $26 million to more than 25,000 households, covering housing and other types of aid as of Oct. 5. Other resources provided include:
- 700 FEMA staff on the ground.
- 1,200 urban search and rescue personnel.
- 1,000 National Guard Bureau troops.
- Sheltering assistance to more than 800 people.
- 8,000 crews helping with power restoration efforts.
Biden also increased federal funding for emergency work in North Carolina on Oct. 2.
Biden didn’t withhold aid to North Carolina counties based on whom their residents supported in the 2020 election. We rate that claim False.
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