


Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas sounded the alarm bells that the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, may run out of funding before the end of hurricane season.
Mayorkas said that while there is enough funding to get aid to victims of Hurricane Helene for now, it does not have enough money for the remainder of the season. The U.S. is currently in the middle of hurricane season, which runs June 1 to Nov. 30 with most hurricanes occurring in September and October.
“We are meeting the immediate needs with the money that we have. We are expecting another hurricane hitting,” Mayorkas told reporters. “FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the season.”
The National Hurricane Center is currently tracking three storm systems in the Atlantic, including a major hurricane. Hurricane Kirk is currently a Category 3 storm and is expected to grow even stronger, according to the latest projection. It is expected to stay over open water, although swells from the hurricane are expected to reach the east coast of the U.S. and Bahamas on Sunday.
Mayorkas did not specify how much money the agency would need to sustain itself. Congress, however, is out of session through November 12, and they are the only body of government that would be able to provide funds for FEMA.
President Joe Biden said he may need to request an emergency supplemental spending package to pay for the recovery efforts from Hurricane Helene.
“That is something I may have to request,” Biden told reporters Monday, without specifying if he had come to this conclusion yet or if this would interfere with their recess.
Last month, Congress passed a stopgap funding measure that includes a provision that allowed FEMA to tap into $20 billion in disaster relief funds beginning Oct. 1.
House Speaker Mike Johnson did not give any indication of considering bringing back the House before scheduled. He said that Congress just provided FEMA with the funds it needs to respond and that lawmakers would make sure those resources are allocated appropriately.
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The devastation has been particularly severe in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where at least 57 people died in and around Asheville, North Carolina. Hurricane Helene has killed more than 160 people so far.
“Communities were wiped off the map,” Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC) said.