The scope of the recovery efforts in North Carolina after Hurricane Helene is "more like Katrina" and demands a coordinated response, including efforts between the U.S. military and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Sen. Thom Tillis said Sunday.
"FEMA knows how to do this well," the North Carolina Republican told CBS News' "Face the Nation." "They've done it in other major disaster events."
But what the American people and outside observers need to understand is that what hit North Carolina and other southern states is more than just a flood.
"This is a land mass roughly the size of the state of Massachusetts, with damage distributed throughout,' Tillis said. "We have to get the maximum resources on the ground immediately to finish rescue operations and then, sadly, be there for recovery and rebuilding."
More federal resources must continue to flow into North Carolina and other states hit hard by the massive storm, said Tillis.
"I'm glad to see, finally, we're getting movement out of Fort Liberty and out of Kentucky with the 82nd Airborne, 101st," said Tillis. "This is unlike anything that we've seen in this state … we need all hands on deck."
But while resources are beginning to move, they should be moving faster, said the senator.
"I want to thank all the local, state, and federal responders out there," Tillis said. "They're doing extraordinary work. But we've got to plus up the resources out there into some of the hardest hit areas, areas that we haven't even reached yet. And I for one, think that can be done through the leadership of active duty DOD personnel working with the state and the National Guard."
Most roads remain closed in western North Carolina, he added, but the 82nd Airborne's actions in battle situations "are exactly what we need."
Meanwhile, Tillis called for an end to the spread of misinformation and a focus on rescue and recovery operations.
"We don't need any of these distractions on the ground," Tillis said. "It's at the expense of hard-working first responders and people that are just trying to recover their lives … most of what I've seen out there is a distraction and not helping the core of the effort right here, which is to save lives and start rebuilding."
Former President Donald Trump has said that money has been spent on the border crisis rather than emergency relief, and Tillis agreed in part that too much has been spent "as a result of [Joe] Biden's failed immigration policies and border policies."
"However, we have the resources that we need, we're going to have to go back and pass more resources," Tillis said. "We could have a discussion about the failure of this administration's border policies and the billions of dollars it's costing but right now, not yet is it affecting the flow of resources to western North Carolina."
Meanwhile, lawmakers will need to look at more funding for FEMA, as Tropical Storm Milton nears Florida and there will be other events that could further draw down federal funding.
"We already know that we need additional resources," he said. "I'm in the camp of, let's go provide some certainty, then we can come back and do more after the election."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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