US House speaker slams hurricane response as 'massive failure'

ISTANBUL

The speaker of the US House of Representatives on Sunday criticized federal disaster management efforts following Hurricane Helene, calling them a "massive failure” by the administration of President Joe Biden.

Mike Johnson told Fox News that hundreds remained missing after the storm ravaged several southeastern states last week.

“When you talk to the people who are directly affected, they will tell you this has been an abject failure," he claimed.

He also criticized the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as having “lost sight of its core mission.”

The Republican also accused the administration of Biden, a Democrat, for a lack of preparedness.

Former President Donald Trump, the Republican candidate for president, last week signaled his party would try to make the hurricane a political issue, claiming Georgia’s Republican governor was being rebuffed by Biden when seeking disaster aid, though Governor Brian Kemp said the opposite.

Republicans later said FEMA disaster relief funds had instead been used to house irregular migrants, a claim the agency quickly denied.

Helene hit northwest Florida before moving inland. It caused widespread power outages affecting millions across Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, reaching farther inland and with greater strength than previous hurricanes.

Biden declared disaster areas in Florida and North Carolina, authorizing federal aid.

The storm has claimed 227 lives across the affected regions, according to local officials.