On Monday’s broadcast of NPR’s “All Things Considered,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas responded to delays in getting water into the Asheville, NC area by stating that the impacts of Hurricane Helene were underestimated and “We are still in search-and-rescue mode in certain communities. There are local communities that are better equipped and better managed because of experience.”
Co-host Ailsa Chang asked, “Well, was access an issue when it came to supplying water there? Because Buncombe County, where Asheville is, says they put in a request for water before the storm, but they hadn’t received anything until this morning.”
She then played audio of County Manager Avril Pinder saying, “We’ve been asking for water and we’re just getting water and it’s still in low quantities. There’s a large need in our community, and we would like to see a better response from our state partners.”
Chang then asked, “Now, I understand that you represent the federal government. But what I want to know is, the forecasts were quite accurate for Helene for quite some time. So, why did it take this long to get water out there?”
Mayorkas responded, “Well, Ailsa, if I may, the estimates of what Helene was going to bring and the reach it was going to have were actually underestimates. I don’t — this has been unprecedented, and it has exceeded the estimates in terms of the communities reached. I do know that FEMA has shipped more than 1 million liters of water to devastated communities. … So, we are very well-versed in dealing with emergency response. We are still in search-and-rescue mode in certain communities. There are local communities that are better equipped and better managed because of experience.”
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