UFC star assisting in Helene rescue efforts says FEMA abandoned North Carolina: 'Still woefully absent'
Save Our Allies co-founder Tim Kennedy said FEMA has 'every priority wrong' in Helene recovery efforts
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Tim Kennedy, former UFC star and Save Our Allies founder, scolded FEMA for being "woefully absent" in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene as his group and other private organizations continue to play a critical role in the recovery effort.
In an appearance on "America's Newsroom" Monday, Kennedy described the scene on the ground in hurricane-ravaged North Carolina, revealing that he pleaded with FEMA to hand over control of the recovery efforts to the U.S. military after seeing first hand the alleged lack of preparedness from the state and federal government.
FEMA ACCUSED OF PLAYING THE VICTIM AFTER INSISTING CRITICISM OF HELENE HANDLING IS ‘DANGEROUS'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"What was clearly absent was the state and federal response. The men and women that showed up from FEMA, that is still woefully absent, there was no command and control. We were begging and pleading for the state to hand over command to the United States military… I wanted real leaders to understand a warlike scenario, this is what it is like to take control. It was absolutely broken," Kennedy, a former Green Beret, said.
Swannanoa residents walk through devastating flood damage from the Swannanoa River in western North Carolina on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (Travis Long/The News & Observer/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
"The men and women on the ground were doing the best they can. But FEMA has every priority wrong," he continued. "They didn’t know what to do or where to do it or how to access these mountains. They were turning people away trying to deliver funds. They're telling helicopters to land, the president's coming in and creating a no-fly zone while we’re doing airborne evacuations. None of it made sense…for FEMA to come and start impeding the efforts of organizations like ours trying to get into deliver goods. It is unconscionable."
FEMA has come under fire for a purportedly inadequate response to the devastation left by Helene. As of last Friday, the death toll in southeastern states hit the hardest by the storm has risen past 224, with more than 100 dead in western North Carolina alone.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former President Trump, Republican elected officials, Elon Musk and volunteers have spoken out against the government’s response to the hurricane, as crews continue searching for missing people and bodies across the affected region.
NORTH CAROLINA SENS. TILLIS, BUDD CALL FOR MILITARY LEADER TO OVERSEE HURRICANE HELENE RESPONSE
Workers, community members, and business owners clean up debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Marshall, North Carolina on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson slammed the agency's relief efforts as an "abject failure" while Republican Sens. Thom Tillis and Ted Budd, both of North Carolina, urged the Biden administration to appoint a military leader to lead the recovery effort, sounding the alarm about the inadequate local response to the catastrophic flooding.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FEMA defended its response to Helene in a statement to FOX Business, stating that "FEMA is continuing to work with our federal family and state and local partners in the impacted areas to effectively bring in life-saving resources to the people and communities who need it most.
"As of Oct. 3. FEMA has deployed more than 11.5 million Meals Ready to Eat (MREs), over 12.6 million liters of water, more than 400,000 tarps and 150 generators to areas impacted by Helene," FEMA’s Director of Public Affairs Jaclyn Rothenberg said.
The agency also said it created a rumor response page to combat misinformation or online narratives about their handling of the hurricane.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}After repeated calls for military intervention, 1,000 active-duty soldiers with the 101st and 82nd airborne divisions were dispatched to North Carolina Sunday to support the ongoing search-and rescue efforts.
"Nobody does it better than the men and women in the American military," Kennedy said.
Kennedy also credited nonprofit organizations like Save Our Allies, Samaritans Purse and others for stepping up to fill the void of an inadequate government response.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"While nobody could get through roads …we are taking four-wheelers and getting in there…," he said.
FILE - Brian McCormack pauses after using a wheelbarrow to clean up debris left in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Oct. 1, 2024, in Marshall, N.C. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson) (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
"We’re doing health and welfare checks and we’re flying into deliver stuff…we have made multiple runs into Charlotte to pick up more body bags because the number just keeps rising and rising and rising. But once you get to that door, you don’t know if somebody will answer the door or hug you and just be so grateful, which happened time and time again, or you start smelling what clearly is going to be a recovery operation instead of a rescue operation," he told host Dana Perino.
"I’ve never been more proud of the response from private citizens."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Kennedy praised Helene victims in North Carolina for their resilience, revealing that many people have turned down items or assistance for fear of taking it from someone who may need it more than they do.
"It just breaks your heart," he said. "These people are so tough they don’t want to take it from somebody that might need it even though it’s clear that they desperately need it."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News Digital's Louis Casiano contributed to this report.