Members of remote NC mountain community prefer FEMA to stay away: report

By Jon Brown, Christian Post Reporter Tuesday, October 08, 2024

Members of a remote community in western North Carolina devastated by recent hurricane damage said Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials haven't helped them, but they prefer it that way.

"At this point, I don't care if FEMA comes by," a resident of Bat Cave named Curtis McCart told the New York Post. "I don't want somebody to pull me out of here, saying I'm working in an unsafe spot. I'm wondering if Big Brother is going to allow us to rebuild."

Bat Cave, an unincorporated community of less than 200 residents about 30 miles southeast of Asheville, was devastated by Hurricane Helene when it hit the area more than a week ago and left many without power, cell service, gas, internet or clean water for days.

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Other Bat Cave residents who spoke to the outlet said FEMA hasn't been helpful, and echoed McCart's assertion that they can take care of themselves without federal officials getting in the way.

Chelsea Atkins, another Bat Cave resident, told the outlet that FEMA officials called to see the damage at her home, but were hampered by a "Road Closed" sign, which they claimed they were not "allowed" to drive around.

"FEMA called me and told me they wanted to inspect my house, then called me back to say they couldn't drive around the 'Road Closed' sign. They weren't allowed," Atkins said.

"You can drive it by car for sure, it's not that bad, you just have to drive around the 'Road Closed' sign. I explained that to them. They said they couldn't," she added.

Last Wednesday, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas set off a flurry of criticism when he claimed FEMA was out of funds for the Atlantic hurricane season, despite the agency allocating $640.9 million this year to assist state and local governments dealing with migrants.

Mayorkas' office pointed out that the funds used for the migrants were appropriated for their use by Congress, according to the New York Post.

Mayorkas also raised eyebrows when The Washington Free Beacon secretly photographed him shopping at a high-end men's clothing store in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., amid the ongoing crisis in hurricane-ravaged states.

Former President Donald Trump and his campaign have made the federal hurricane response a recurring theme of his campaign in the final weeks before the 2024 presidential election.

Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, tore into the agency during a Monday interview with "Fox & Friends," describing it as "DMV at an industrial scale."

Many private citizens and Christian parachurch organizations have been aiding the relief effort, such as Samaritan's Purse, which is based 100 miles northeast of Asheville in Boone.

Samaritan's Purse President and CEO Franklin Graham recently told CP that the devastation in the area is worse than television can portray, and urged Americans to rely on each other instead of the government.

"The government cannot solve all of these problems," Graham said, adding that "people are going to have to get out there and get to work" regardless of the government's response.

“Hopefully, somebody like Samaritan's Purse will be there to help you,” he added. “But still, if people want to sit back and wait for the government to do everything, it’s not going to happen.”