FEMA did not answer almost half of the calls it received for disaster aid from survivor

After Hurricane Helene flooded his home in western North Carolina, Ed Toomey called for federal aid.

Instead, he got a recorded message.

“They told me I was 675th in line,” Toomey, a painter dressed in a spattered shirt, recounted while waiting outside a federal recovery center in Hendersonville.

Since Hurricane Helene hit southern Appalachia last month, hundreds of thousands of disaster survivors across the nation have struggled to reach federal call centers or have faced extreme wait times on hold. Overwhelmed by Helene and Hurricane Milton, federal call centers recently failed to answer nearly half of incoming calls in one week alone, and those who did get through waited over an hour on average.

These issues with federal disaster relief have become a focal point in the presidential race. Former President Donald Trump recently campaigned in two hurricane-damaged swing states, Georgia and North Carolina, where he criticized the Biden administration’s response. But call center data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) shows that hurricane recovery efforts have indeed encountered serious challenges amid a constant flow of disasters.

On Tuesday, FEMA released data indicating that it’s struggling with staffing shortages a month after the hurricanes struck states from Florida to Tennessee. The agency disclosed Wednesday that it has distributed more than $1.2 billion in emergency aid to affected survivors across six states. At the same time, Deputy Administrator Erik Hooks visited North Carolina to meet with state and local officials.

FEMA also reported that its capacity to handle any additional major disaster is nearly exhausted. Two weeks earlier, the Small Business Administration had already depleted funds for low-interest disaster loans for small businesses and households.

At a Trump rally on Sunday, a speaker made racially charged remarks, prompting Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign to air ads criticizing Trump’s handling of Hurricane Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico in 2017.

FEMA has faced recurring issues in handling large-scale disasters, a struggle that dates back to at least 2005 with Hurricane Katrina, which claimed almost 1,400 lives in Louisiana. When Hurricane Sandy hit New York and New Jersey in 2012, FEMA’s own analysis revealed that its call centers lacked the staffing and technology to meet survivors’ needs.