This map shows how long it took for each county affected by Helene to get back to 95% of the homes and customers back to having power. In some cases, it was months before everyone had power again.  This storm took 176 lives directly and another 71 indirectly. The total of 247 contained the trend of mega-disasters that seems to have begun since 2010. 

President Trump is getting some very good advice from his people. FEMA not only hasn't helped in the southern Appalachians, they have gotten in the way.  Clearly, FEMA is a failed agency. It needs to be shrunken and put into the place of a coordinator and an agency to cut through red tape -- only. My specific recommendations are here . 

Between the Los Angeles fires and two recent winter storms, I wanted to use this space to bring our readers up-to-date on a couple items of interest.  North Carolina - Helene Disaster FEMA has continued to drop the ball. People have been left without housing in the snow and cold or, for those with hotel vouchers, they have been left hanging as to their renewal until -- literally -- 12 hours (the evening before) they expired.  Yes, those are tents with people sleeping in them in the freezing cold. I continue to -- strongly -- recommend  Samaritan's Purse  and  EmergencyRV  if you want to donate. We can only hope that the Trump Administration has the compassion that Biden's FEMA lacks.  If you wish to see my Full Measure interview pertaining to the future of FEMA, please see below: UPDATE (10:15am Friday): The predictable FEMA nightmare is starting in Los Angeles. Please see my Full Measure  interview (above) and my suggestions to President Trump...

Images from Matt Van Swol .....in your year-end giving plans.  While the private sector and religious groups have done a great job making up for the Biden Administration's criminal negligence, they can only do so much without our financial aid.  NASCAR and Lowes donating 100 tiny homes on Christmas Day We suggest writingl checks to Samaritan's Purse and to EmergencyRV

As NOAA and FEMA have been controversy factories recently, I don't want us to loose focus on far west North Carolina, far northwest South Carolina and far east Tennessee which were hit so hard by Hurricane Helene. Another brief video is here . If you haven't given, please  consider a monetary gift to Samaritan's Purse  . They are doing incredible work in the region. 

Above is the report from WBTV.  The latest excuses from FEMA for their gross underperformance are in the above report. FEMA's solution? To stop making promises as to when trailers will be delivered!! Updated at 1:20pm:   Above is an image of the FEMA compound that is being torn down  as FEMA leaves western North Carolina. The trailers have electricity, water, sewage, etc. The story is here .  FEMA is tearing down a perfectly good trailer village   it built for its employees post-Helene while people in the disaster zone are living in tents and hotels. Why? FEMA is bugging out after doing very, very little for the people of southern Appalachia.  Cruel and despicable are the two words that best describe the way the federal and state governments are treating western North Carolina.  But, why aren't we hearing more about it? Part is the liberal bent of the MSM and we still have a Democrat in the White House and in North Carolina's executive mansion. ...

  -- The Appalachian Catastrophe Continues -- Local Government Blocks Man From Placing an RV on His Own Land Because of 'Zoning' Please listen to the brief interview above with Shawn Hendricks where he talks about the continuing need in the southern Appalachians. He, like so many in the area, mentions that FEMA is nowhere to be found and that ridiculous local regulations are also hampering the recovery effort. I promise: the interview is well worth your time. It it Shawn who made the observation that is the title of this piece.  The red link also takes you to Operation Shelter (tweet below). Below, from Friday, is a brief tweet about their latest work. Please consider a donation!!  You will also find links to other worthy groups at the end of this piece.  Please, please watch the entire video .  As his FEMA fails at every level.... I seriously doubt the Biden's made an appropriate donation to the area. Given his press operation, we'd hear about it if he ha...

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. We Americans have so many reasons to be thankful.  But, this year more than most, a group of Americans is desperately hurting. Below are this week's reports from Matt Van Swol who has been doing amazing work on  the ground in western North Carolina. I urge you to follow him if you want the latest news.   Jesus told us we have a personal, individual responsibility to help the poor. These churches are helping people carry out that obligation.  FEMA continues to treat the people of southern Appalachia in a cruel and criminal manner. I don't use those words lightly.  That interview is here .  On the other hand, Franklin Graham has announced that Samaritan's Purse will build 1,000 homes for the people of the area.  But it isn't just homes that need help. So do small businesses .  So, if you have had a good year please donate as soon as possible.   Samaritan's purse is here .  EmergencyRV is here ....

Please read these posts from yesterday evening: -- and -- With the reporting from a number of independent reports, groups and bloggers last week and the week before creating interest, legacy media reporters have finally returned to the area and they shocked at what they find. There are two words to describe how the people of western North Carolina are being treated: cruel and criminal. I suspect the Biden Administration and NC Governor Democrat Roy Cooper are exacting retribution for this area voting for President-Elect Trump. How would you expect them to vote after the way they have been treated ?! A National Disaster Review Board would provide a measure of accountability for how people are treated during and after disasters. Now, there is no accountability at all -- so they can get away with it. 

50 Days Ago: Hurricane Helene Develops in the Gulf of Mexico Helene's aftermath should be the lead story on each network's evening news for the foreseeable future.  Here's the latest on the horror in far east Tennessee, far northwest South Carolina, and western North Carolina: the situation is unbelievably bad and the people we pay to mitigate the effects of natural disasters are, at best, failing at their mission.  In the autumn of 2023, we had at least some reporting from the legacy media about the Maui "land grab" after the horrific fire that struck the City of Lahina. The historic city burned to the ground and the fire killed more than 100.  Serious questions remain unanswered about the Maui Wildfire, which is yet another reason why the United States must  create a National Disaster Review Board , see more below. But that is not the primary topic of this piece.  FEMA and insurance companies -- or people claiming to represent them -- have brought out that ...

Snow is forecast to fall in western North Carolina the end of the week -- the area devastated by Hurricane Helene.  With winter setting in, people are desperate.  Many victims have no home, no electricity and at least one is paying $130/month for a Port-A-Potty!! $15 billion will be needed to replace destroyed housing stock. I can't find (and I have looked!) a single first-hand account complimentary of FEMA's work outside of Asheville.  I can say with certainty: FEMA shows little to no sense of urgency. While I, of course, don't know the details in the case below, stories of insurance companies and FEMA rejecting what appear to be valid claims abound. As a meteorologist, I agree with Ms. Smith that this is not flood damage.  So, we must assist.  There are unconfirmed reports that people have already died of exposure. Please  retweet this for others to see so that they may be able to assist.  Many suggest older, but still in good condition, RV homes b...

  I urge  you to watch Brian's video here .  Where is FEMA? There are a number of allegations they are hanging out in Asheville (which is politically blue). The federal government's fiscal year begins every October 1 so it is hard to understand why these agencies (watch the video) say they are out of money.  Former FEMA Director Mike Brown, yesterday, said FEMA's response in the southern Appalachians is "unacceptable." I think we can all agree on that.  Where is Congress? Where is the National Guard or Army? The election is over. Hundreds of people are still missing. There seems to be little sense of urgency among government agencies as winter approaches  -- with temperatures forecast to drop into the 20's late next week.  It would be a great addition to President Biden's legacy if he would convene Congress to appropriate money and do what else needs to be done in Washington to enable the response to scale up to what is needed.  4:45pm Friday...

The Washington Post   has published an outstanding story regarding the loss of forests in the southern Appalachians as a result of Hurricane Helene.  Home or cabin surrounded by toppled trees near the top of a mountain. Washington Post The story's attempt to tie global warming to Hurricane Helene is weak and it does not sync with the IPCC's position that there is no certainty that hurricane strength is being influenced by climate change.  With that qualification, I highly recommend the story to you.  The disaster continues to grow. From Twitter Monday afternoon.  And, with Veteran's Day still in mind, the Post  has a story of vets volunteering to help the region put itself back together .  We wrote a second set of checks to Samaritan's Purse and the Salvation Army. If you can do so, I urge you to. Unless something has changed in the last two weeks, there are still people looking at a winter without electricity. They need all of the help they can get....

I'm sure many of you know Sharyl Attkisson from her national Sunday morning news show,  Full Measure News .  She invited me on her podcast last week and it is now posted. We discuss the tragic Hurricane Helene disaster, my proposed National Disaster Review Board, and other interesting topics. I hope you will listen! Note: the bad link to the podcast has been fixed. 

I'm again complementing the Washington Post  for yet another outstanding story on a weather-related topic. I highly recommend this story about Hurricane Helene and its victims .

Charles Peek of The Weather Channel is a remarkable reporter. He's getting the stories of Helene that others are missing.  Think about it: going without power for a winter! If you haven't donated to Salvation Army or Samaritan's Purse, what are you waiting for?!

Earlier this week, I defended the Biden-Harris Administration from some of the charges being leveled agains them in the wake of Hurricane Helene. You can read it  here .  However, the situation has changed. There has been more than sufficient time to move adequate federal resources into the devastated region. And, there is sufficient reporting from people I trust to conclude things are very wrong.  What is being done to prevent help from getting to those desperately in need is unbelievable incompetence or deliberate malfeasance by the Administration. Let's begin with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg talking about innocuous sounding "flight restrictions" over the devastated area (I can't seem to post the video without interference but I've watched it twice).  His "temporary flight restrictions" are being used to stop people from launching private helicopter relief flights and private sector drones to carry Starlinks and survey the area.  If there ...