Conspiracy theories about hurricane aid could be fatal

Nathalie Beasnael, The Independent

America is diving headfirst into a maelstrom — and I’m not just talking about Hurricane Milton, the “worst storm in 100 years”. Watching Donald Trump, JD Vance and Elon Musk spread viral conspiracy theories about my agency’s (the Federal Emergency Management Agency, also known as Fema) response to Hurricane Helene feels like not just a personal attack on first responders like me, but also a blatant assault on disaster relief, turning a lifesaving mission into a bitter political battleground.

Musk’s ludicrous claims that Fema blocked donations, maliciously closed off local airspace, or even “treasonously” diverted funds to “ferry illegals” are utterly baseless and have been flatly denied by both my organisation and the Federal Aviation Administration.

Similarly, Trump’s absurd accusations that funds — ringfenced specifically for disaster relief — were funnelled to house illegal migrants, or that Democrats are intentionally neglecting Republican areas in disaster-hit North Carolina, are needlessly instigating an epidemic of doubt and distrust plaguing ordinary Americans.

But their dalliance with wild conspiracies obscures a disturbing truth that pushes essential federal agencies to the point of collapse. The fact is Fema, much like our nation’s ailing infrastructure, has been systematically underfunded for years. Just this week the US Homeland Security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, warned that we do not have enough funding to get through the hurricane season — which has rapidly escalated in a matter of days. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Our federal agencies have been crippled after years of neglect and politically motivated budget cuts — much of which was supercharged under Trump.

For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) requires up to $20bn (£15bn) more annually just to maintain basic public health capabilities, while the US Postal Service faces another $14bn shortfall in modernising its operations. Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s staggering $630bn clean water infrastructure deficit and the National Park Service’s $22bn maintenance backlog show just how deep these funding cuts have gouged, leaving critical services on the brink of collapse and choking America’s ability to function.

As hurricanes, wildfires, and even pandemics grow more frequent and severe, Trump’s Project 2025 proposes even deeper cuts to our essential agencies. This plan would leave average Americans dangerously exposed to the kind of terrifying disaster currently engulfing Florida. The solution is not to treat these cash-strapped agencies as disposable — or worse, as political cannon fodder. Instead, we should realise that the unprecedented scale of America’s natural disasters necessitates rewriting the rulebook. For one, we should be taking a page from the Department of Defense’s playbook. With a staggering $841b budget, defence secures funding to rightly defend America’s national security. Given the increasing frequency and severity of climate disasters, it’s long past time we realised that we ignore the real and present dangers to national security, in the peril of our cities.

A national commitment — like Nato’s 2 per cent GDP benchmark for defence — could be a game-changer for America’s environmental and emergency response agencies. But to boost the federal funding that is so urgently needed, America must look to how Europe is addressing its own industrial crisis — through bold new international partnerships.

As we witness the havoc being wreaked on Florida, America should seek out similar international partnerships to mobilise the capital needed for our cash-strapped federal agencies.