The FEMA website admits that your survival is not a top priority

Residents of flooded towns across Appalachia were forced to rely on charitable relief efforts, days after a Category 4 hurricane wreaked “biblical devastation” in communities seemingly abandoned by the federal government. As Hurricane Helene brewed over the Atlantic, the country's main disaster agency appeared to be distracted by concerns about “equity” and “climate resilience” in emergency preparedness.

The storm-related death toll topped 100 Monday morning as Americans desperate for resources rely on local first responders and private helicopters rather than the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). While FEMA routinely prepares for massive rescue operations in the days before severe storms, such pre-planned assistance was clearly not available to residents of Appalachian towns swept away by the torrential rains of last week's hurricane.

In an interview published Sunday with NPR, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, who visited the site where the hurricane made landfall in Florida this weekend, was asked about the devastation in Tennessee and North Carolina.

“I believe there are nine search and rescue teams in North Carolina,” Criswell said, and “more are joining today.”

“We are sending more resources,” the FEMA chief added, “to ensure we can reach everyone impacted, people who are still isolated from the effects of the storm.”

However, moving resources in the days following the storm does not mean that resources were nearby and ready to respond. The agency's lack of proactive measures could be explained by the federal government's listed values.

According to FEMA's website, storm preparedness isn't even among the federal relief agency's top two priorities. FEMA's stated goals include, first, establishing “equity as the foundation of emergency management” and second, “leading the entire community in climate resilience.” The goal of “promoting and sustaining a ready FEMA and a prepared nation” ranks third under an administration obsessed with promoting identity politics at every level of the federal bureaucracy. When President Joe Biden took office, one of his first appointments was former White House national security adviser Susan Rice to head the Domestic Policy Council. She was given the task of demanding that authorities make “eradicating systemic racism” a focus of their mission.

On Sunday, President Biden declined to pledge additional resources to Americans drowning in what officials called “unprecedented” destruction.

“We gave it everything we have,” Biden told reporters as he boarded a plane back to Washington.

“Are there any other resources the federal government could make available to them?” asked a reporter.

“No,” said the president.