Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.), representing a district within the western portion of the Tar Heel State, stated Monday that the federal response following Tropical Storm Helene’s destruction “has been disappointing.”
“The response has been disappointing,” Edwards stated on NewsNation’s “The Hill” to anchor Blake Burman.
On Sunday, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) stated {that a} minimal of 11 folks had died within the state as Helene resulted in widespread destruction. Landslides and flooding induced the closure of Interstate 40 and different roads, isolating the western a part of North Carolina. The Related Press reported that North Carolina noticed a few of its worst flooding in a century.
“We [began] to see some … some resources brought in today, but the storm was over about 80 hours ago,” Edwards stated in his interview with Burman. “The storm was over about 10 a.m. on Friday. We knew that the storm was coming, and only today are we beginning to see the first … [Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)] employees and trailers and … helicopters—”
“How’s that, how’s that possible, congressman?” Burman lower in. “I mean … how’s that possible? “This was no secret that Asheville was gonna get historic flooding.”
Edwards responded that he couldn’t “tell you how it [was] possible, but the people in Western North Carolina feel let down, deservedly so.”
President Biden has stated he’ll go to North Carolina on Wednesday to see the injury from Helene.
“I’m going to North Carolina on Wednesday. It’s planned now. We’re going to be landing in Raleigh for a meeting with the Emergency Operations Center, and I’ll then do an aerial tour,” Biden stated in current remarks.
The Hill has reached out to FEMA.
NewsNation is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which additionally owns The Hill.
