President Donald J. Trump Mobilized a Massive Federal Response Ahead of Hurricane Florence | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press Release:

    "To the incredible citizens of North Carolina, South Carolina and the entire East Coast ... We have already begun mobilizing our assets to respond accordingly, and we are here for you!"  -  President Donald J. Trump


    IMMEDIATE SUPPORT IN PLACE: President Donald J. Trump's Administration put preparations in place to assist States and local governments ahead of Hurricane Florence.

           •  More than 3,800 Federal Employees, including more than 1,000 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), are working with State and local partners to respond to Hurricane Florence.

           •  The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) prepositioned more than 560 personnel ahead of Florence to support health and medical needs if requested.

           •  HHS and FEMA have multiple teams in North and South Carolina, including:

                 •  6 FEMA Incident Management Assistance Teams (IMAT)

                 •  14 FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces

                 •  4 HHS Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMAT)

                 •  One HHS Incident Management Team (IMT)

           •  Additional resources are staged in Virginia and Maryland and ready to move into impacted areas as needed, including:

                 •  3 FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces in Virginia

                 •  3 Disaster Medical Assistance Teams Maryland

           •  FEMA has 6 Incident Support Bases in North Carolina, West Virginia, Virginia, and Alabama readily supporting the needs of affected states.

           •  The United States Coast Guard pre-staged forces in the affected region, including:

                 •  58 personnel,

                 •  4 response boats,

                 •  10 Flood Response Boat Teams,

                 •  13 Incident Management Assistance Teams, and

                 •  17 National Strike Force teams.

    PROTECTING THE POWER GRID: The Trump Administration is ready to rapidly assist in restoring power after Hurricane Florence and protect nuclear power plants in the path.

           •  The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) deployed a Temporary Emergency Power Team to North Carolina and additional team leaders are on-site across the region.

           •  More than 40,000 workers from at least 17 states have been mobilized by electric companies, public power utilities, and electric cooperatives.

                 •  The Department of Energy, Department of Homeland Security, and FEMA are helping to coordinate these ongoing preparations ahead of Florence.

           •  The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) worked with power companies to shut down nuclear plants ahead of the storm to comply with regulatory standards during extreme weather and pre-positioned inspectors ready to monitor post-hurricane.

    ON SITE SUPPORT: President Trump's Administration is working with State, Local, and private sector partners to support response efforts following Hurricane Florence's impact.

           •  President Trump has approved emergency disaster declarations for North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia, allowing the Federal government to provide enhanced support.

           •  Federal resources are pre-positioned in the region, including:

                 •  over 100 helicopters,

                 •  over 6 million meals,

                 •  over 4 million liters of water,

                 •  over 6,000 cots, and

                 •  over 730,000 blankets.

           •  These pre-positioned resources are ready to augment private sector, State, local, and volunteer organization capacities.

                 •  In addition, non-governmental partners are providing mobile kitchen units capable of preparing more than 300,000 meals per day.

                 •  FEMA is working to prepare for a sheltering event of over 100,000 people.

           •  To ensure fuel supply following Florence, the Environmental Protection Agency is working with State and local authorities in coastal communities to issue fuel waivers as needed.

           •  HHS has provided Medicare and Medicaid waivers to allow those who depend on benefits to seek care if they are displaced due to Florence's impact.

           •  Veterans Affairs has performed mandatory evacuations and ensured all our facilities have topped off their energy and oxygen supplies, and have enough food until September 29.

           •  The Department of Transportation has assisted state and local authorities in making sure evacuations are as seamless as possible.

           •  The Trump Administration is working with private sector partners to ensure critical information is released to the public in a timely and accurate manner.

                 •  FEMA has launched a rumor control page - https://www.fema.gov/florence-rumors - in an effort to avoid the spread of false information post-hurricane.

• Contact: White House
•     Press Office