No program takes away a storm victim’s land or requires them to forfeit their homes for failure to repay relief funds, President Biden’s emergency manager said Wednesday, hoping to dispel rumors around the response to Hurricane Helene.

Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said rumors like these might be dissuading people from applying for assistance or approaching federal emergency personnel.

“One of the biggest ones I continue to hear is that we’re going to take their land from them. Simply untrue,” she said.

Ms. Criswell said people who apply for assistance get an upfront $750 for immediate needs.

“There were rumors out there that if you received this money, and you didn’t pay it back, that we would take your home. Simply untrue,” she said.

Mr. Biden and his team are under intense pressure to respond to the Hurricane Helene disaster in North Carolina while preparing for Hurricane Milton’s landfall in Florida.

Some Republican lawmakers said the administration was caught flat-footed by the scale of destruction in western North Carolina and slow to meet needs, forcing aid groups to step in.

In turn, the Biden administration is pointing to “misinformation” in the region as one of the biggest impediments to its work.

Ms. Criswell said she didn’t want to speculate about the source of bogus information about the response. However, she called it “demoralizing” for FEMA staff and “damaging” to people who need assistance.

• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.