As Hurricane Milton, now a Cat 5 storm, barrels toward a Florida landfall late Wednesday, it’s hard to know where to start with an assessment of FEMA’s response and recovery fails this past week. But DHS Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas’s comments about FEMA readiness and Joe Biden’s remarks after surveying Hurricane Helene damage are good entry points demonstrating the disconnect between Beltway bureaucrats and disaster victims.

According to Mayorkas in July: “FEMA is tremendously prepared. This is what we do.” That did not age well. According to Mayorkas after Helene hit: “We do not have the funds. FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the season…”

As Nate Jackson wrote last week, one reason FEMA has exhausted its congressional allocation for disaster relief is because Mayorkas “has diverted more than $1.4 billion over the last two years dealing with the crisis consequences of ‘Border Czar’ Kamala Harris’s disastrous open border policies.” Turns out, taking care of illegal immigrants is expensive.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) protested: “FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security have been spending billions of dollars on migrants… When they need hundreds of billions of dollars to pay off student loans for graduate students and gender studies programs, they somehow find it.”

As for Biden’s assessment, now that Helene has resulted in the highest death toll since Katrina, he interrupted his Delaware beach nap for some hurricane swing state photo-op stops. At the end of the day, when he was asked by a reporter what the storm victims needed, Biden responded, “They’re getting everything they need, and they’re very happy across the board.”

I dare ya — read that again without calling bull puckey on that claim!

And on the subject of bull puckey, the day after Helene hit, Biden insisted nobody should politicize a catastrophe – and then declared, “Nobody can deny the impact of the climate crisis anymore. … They must be brain-dead if they do.” Beyond the irony of Biden accusing those who question “The Science” of being “brain-dead,” he and all those well-paid profiteers and promoters of the socialist “climate change” agenda expect you to assume any change in the climate is anthropogenic (man-made).

As CNN declared while the body count was mounting, “[Hurricane Helene’s] intensity was fueled by warm waters due to fossil fuel use.” For the record, despite all the assertions to the contrary, that “science” is far from settled. Yet no doubt Biden and Harris will be back in Florida by Friday asserting that Hurricane Milton is your fault if you don’t drive a solar/wind powered electric vehicle. (BTW, none of the Biden/Harris motorcade vehicles are EVs.)

Biden’s “happy across the board” assertion was almost as offensive as Harris taking a break from her West Coast celebrity fundraisers to assure those in the most devastated areas that they could apply for a $750 handout so they can be “unburdened by what has been.” (No word on FEMA’s hurricane fact-check page clarifying if that is a grant or loan.)

It is important to understand for context, that FEMA is not a “first responder” agency. The bulk of support in catastrophes comes from state and local emergency first responders, and citizen volunteers.

Of course, FEMA and other government agencies will, over the long term, be pouring billions of dollars into Helene recovery efforts, which may ultimately have a reconstruction and economic impact cost in excess of $34 billion. Of course, one of FEMA’s top goals is to ensure Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion among those delivering and receiving its distributions, and anyone of any “gender identity” is eligible.

With that as a backdrop, FEMA, of course, is under fire in its latest hurricane response in the six states that were impacted, particularly in North Carolina.

Before commenting on that, first, the good news — mostly motivated by the Good News.

In North and South Carolina, and Tennessee, like other Southern states, neighbors (and by “neighbors,” I mean those who may live a hundred miles from a victim they have never met) don’t wait on “the government” to fix things. We start taking care of our own immediately. That accounts for the efforts and generosity of thousands of folks now being documented on mainstream and social media platforms. These are individuals, churches, and organizations that have collected millions of pounds of the most needed relief items at their own expense — a response that FEMA could never muster from its reserves. These folks are arriving in caravans, some with tractor-trailer loads, some with small rental trailers.

And pilots, all those civilian helicopter owners not only from the region but from many states away, have shown up at their expense to undertake search and rescue operations and deliver goods to those who can’t be reached by road. These flights supplement the substantial military rescue and resupply operations by soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division and 20th Engineer Brigade, Fort Liberty, and the 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell. Combined, these efforts have met countless critical needs.

The citizen response reflects the best in us, what is good and right about America!

North Carolina Sen. Ted Budd summed up those services: “God bless groups like Samaritan’s Purse … and others that are stepping up and bringing in the military discipline and the speed and the generosity … serving in the name of Jesus Christ to make things better for the people of Western North Carolina. … It’s the private citizens that are stepping up right now.”

On the other hand, there is the FEMA disconnect and many reports of malfeasance.

Our publishing operations are located in East Tennessee, and to answer the inquiries we have had about the impact in our area, the heavy winds and rain in our did little damage. However, we have many friends in the Tennessee/North Carolina border regions hardest hit, both residents impacted and those providing relief goods and services. Thus, we have received many firsthand accounts from those on the ground regarding obstacles to service and material delivery.

Those accounts largely corroborate social media reports about FEMA authorities obstructing aid to North Carolina residents, particularly in the hardest-hit area of Asheville and surrounding counties. Those areas may ultimately account for almost half the deceased victims, and there are still hundreds whose whereabouts are unknown.

Among the myriad social media posts documenting impeded recovery efforts was this one issued by Elon Musk on October 4: “Just received this note from a SpaceX engineer helping on the ground in North Carolina. FEMA is not merely failing to adequately help people in trouble, but is actively blocking citizens who try to help!”

According to that engineer, “The big issue is FEMA is actively blocking shipments and seizing goods and services locally and locking them away. … It’s very real and scary how much they have taken control to stop people helping.”

An hour later, Musk posted reports that FEMA asked the FAA to issue TFRs (Temporary Flight Restrictions) impeding private flights into the disaster areas: “The level of belligerent government incompetence is staggering!! There are hundreds of reports of FEMA/FAA blocking flights.”

DoT Sec. Pete Buttigieg replied: No one is shutting down the airspace and FAA doesn’t block legitimate rescue and recovery flights. If you’re encountering a problem give me a call.

Musk rebutted: Are you saying this man and hundreds of others are all lying?

Musk and Buttigieg then spoke by phone and according to Buttigieg, “We were able to take care of it,” prompting Musk to respond: Thanks for expediting approval for support flights [and] for helping simplify the FAA NOTAM (Notice to Air Missions). Support flights are now underway.

In fact, there were multiple TFRs issued for the Tennessee/North Carolina corridor soon after the hurricane hit. However, once Musk got on the case, Buttigieg lifted those FAA restriction. There are no current TFRs listed for this area, and a notice regarding Hurricane Helene flight restrictions specifies: “These TFRs do not ban aircraft, including drones, from providing disaster relief and recovery assistance.” However, it also notes, “Relief operations, including civilian and volunteer operations, may access the restricted airspace if they are coordinated with emergency responders,” and lack of “coordination” may be the source many officious disputes.

(Notably, when Biden was in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina making sure everyone was “getting everything they need” and “very happy across the board,” there were TFRs in place with heavy restrictions. In other words, when he and Harris show up, air rescue and recovery operations are impeded.)

That being said, most of these disaster area disputes are the result of the acute disconnect between government bureaucrats and citizens pulling together to support relief efforts, the latter being first in with the most needed provisions. Having been involved in a few massive rescue and recovery operations, it is difficult for me to convey just how staggering that disconnect really is.

A big part of this discordance is the result of the Beltway culture of bureaucratic indifference that infests the bowels of government agencies. If you think these bureaucrats have any reference point for what we in the private sector consider “accountability,” please raise your dominant hand, then slap yourself with it.

As for criticism of FEMA, agency Administrator Deanne Criswell issued this complaint: “It has a tremendous impact on the comfort level of our own employees,” adding, “when you have this dangerous rhetoric like you’re hearing, it creates fear in our own employees.” The “dangerous rhetoric” is connected with FEMA failures, which she did not address. But she is correct, there are some truly unhinged social media posts comments targeting FEMA and military personnel, which sometimes emerge around the edges of mass disasters.

But the reports we have received of FEMA supervisors warning their personnel to avoid properties with Trump campaign signs because those locations may pose increased risk of personal injury, are absurd. I can assure you those “Trump people” are on the frontlines of assisting those in need.

Another factor generating flashpoints on the frontlines of rescue and recovery efforts is the fact that both citizens and first responders are exhausted. Tempers flare, which can exacerbate misunderstandings of rationale and process.

That exhaustion, combined with the excessive “disaster authority complex” that sometimes emerges, is the reason that a private helicopter pilot was told — after landing in a recovery area to drop off a victim and preparing to return for her husband — that he would be arrested if he did so. That threat defied any modicum of common sense.

Additionally, when “disaster authority complex” collides with a citizen responder who exhibits “disaster expert complex,” disputes can blow up. That is a factor in some reports about FEMA and other officials “seizing” relief materials.

Here is what’s important to understand about citizen response in a widespread disaster area — which, fortunately, most self-deploying citizens do understand.

First, every person who enters a disaster area potentially puts a strain on already severely limited food, shelter, and medical resources. This is especially true of people motivated by a heartfelt desire to help others but who have limited experience and proficiency in providing that help. First responders must not only seek to protect those impacted by disaster but protect those responding to disaster. Most citizen responders know and respect this balance.

Second, organized disaster response groups like those Sen. Budd mentioned, and individuals who understand the process, always endeavor to coordinate with state and local command centers in order to get the supplies they are bringing to the best delivery and distribution staging areas. The most effective triage to ensure people get the emergency assistance they need on the front end of a disaster, is to create distribution points so that there can be an organized approach to service and material delivery, ensuring the greatest number of people get their essential needs met. If you are bringing a trailer load of provisions, please identify a predetermined drop point.

To be clear, this does not mean all victims will get help in the early stages of a disaster, and it is local folks with the skills and capabilities, who forge the frontline of disaster relief — those who cut trees to open roads, who use ATVs to deliver material where roads have been destroyed, and who know where residents might be trapped and can, thus, direct and assist with their rescue.

That being said, the most effective disaster assistance is coordinated by state and local officials, organizations, and volunteers. Too often, the FEMA bureaucratic beast conflicts with the heartfelt extension of support from regional and local volunteers, and the result is ugly.

Finally, to all those who have joined together for the Helene rescue phase, and those who will endure the recovery phase for a long time to come, God bless each and every one. Likewise, we pray for the safety of all those in the path of Milton.

PS: For the record, I do not cast all FEMA personnel in the shadow of some corrupt agency managers, just as I have argued we should not cast all FBI personnel in the shadow of some corrupt agency managers. The fact is, there are good people in both organizations, many of whom are Veterans, devoted to carrying out their missions with integrity and honor. But over the last eight years, a culture of corruption has thrived unabated, and that culture is taking the respective agencies down.

(Updated)