In the wake of Hurricane Helene, we fact-check the online misinformation about assistance payments to disaster survivors.
Besides responding to the destruction caused by Hurricane Helene in the US, emergency workers are battling online misinformation that could dissuade survivors from accepting disaster relief.
Some false claims have focused on the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) $750 payments for essential supplies.
“BREAKING: Hurricane victims are now realizing that the $750 from FEMA that Kamala Harris is offering them is actually a loan, not real relief,” Philip Anderson wrote on X on October 4. “And that if they don’t pay it back the feds can seize their property. These people don’t even have property anymore because of the hurricane.”
Anderson, of Smith County, Texas, pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from his actions on January 6, 2021, at the US Capitol. His X handle is @VoteHarrisOut.
This narrative also spread on TikTok. In one video that drew almost 400,000 views as of October 6, an unidentified man described as a “FEMA inspector” issued what he described as a “dire warning”.
“There is a contract, at the beginning when the inspector gets there before he starts inspecting,” he said. “In that contract, if you do not pay the money back — it is a loan. A loan. And even if it’s just a dollar or $750, if you don’t pay it back, they have the right to seize all of your property.”
On October 5, someone shared that TikTok post on X, writing: “Shocking … a scam, $750 is a trap.” It had received more than 79,000 views as of October 6.
These claims are baseless: FEMA’s assistance payment for essential supplies is not a loan, and the agency does not seize property.
“Our number one goal is for survivors to get the assistance that they deserve, that they need so they can recover,” FEMA Press Secretary Daniel Llargues said. “All of this noise and misinformation may prevent some people from coming to us for assistance.”
FEMA’s $750 ‘Serious Needs Assistance’ payment is not a loan that must be repaid
FEMA’s “Serious Needs Assistance” offers a one-time $750-per-household payment to disaster survivors who apply during the first 30 days after a disaster declaration. It is meant to help cover “essential items” and emergency supplies, including “water, food, first aid, breast-feeding supplies, infant formula, diapers, personal hygiene items, or fuel for transportation”.
On October 5, Jaclyn Rothenberg, FEMA’s public affairs and planning director, responded directly to claims that this assistance is a loan that must be repaid.
“This is not true,” she wrote in response to the October 4 X post. “We do not ask for this money back.”
FEMA also addressed these falsehoods on a “Myth vs. Fact: Disaster Assistance” website.
“Myth: FEMA grant money is a loan that I will need to pay back,” it read. “Fact: FEMA disaster assistance are grants which do not need to be repaid.”
Serious Needs Assistance is available to disaster survivors who are US citizens and qualified noncitizens. For people to qualify, their primary home must be in the disaster-stricken area. These people also must apply for the assistance while it is available. And FEMA must be able to confirm the applicants’ identities and review supporting documents to confirm damage to the applicants’ homes.
Serious Needs Assistance is “an initial payment people may receive” while they wait for the other forms of assistance they might qualify for, according to FEMA’s website.
“As people’s applications continue to be reviewed, they may still receive additional forms of assistance for other needs such as support for temporary housing, personal property and home repair costs,” the website said.
In most cases, FEMA says, its grants do not have to be paid back.
There are exceptions. For example, if someone has insurance that covers temporary housing costs but asks FEMA to advance money to help with those costs while the insurance money is delayed, then “you will need to pay that money back to FEMA after you receive your insurance settlement”, FEMA said.
FEMA does not seize personal property
On its “Rumor Response” page, FEMA rebutted claims that people who apply for FEMA assistance risk having their property seized or confiscated.
“FEMA cannot seize your property or land,” the agency wrote. “Applying for disaster assistance does not grant FEMA or the federal government authority or ownership of your property or land.”
Applying for disaster assistance means a FEMA inspector might be sent to verify and assess damage to a residence, which is one factor reviewed to determine eligibility for different types of disaster relief, the website said.
The page concluded: “If the results of the inspection deem your home uninhabitable, that information is only used to determine the amount of FEMA assistance you may receive to make your home safe, sanitary and functional.”
This falsehood has circulated during previous disasters, including after the destructive and deadly 2023 wildfires in Maui, Hawaii.
Llargues of FEMA described the process someone might experience when applying for disaster relief.
“You apply for assistance, and you tell me that you have five feet of water in your house,” he said. “We’re going to be sending an inspector out there.” That inspector might be a FEMA employee or a contractor. Either way, the inspector will not charge for anything and there’s “no contract”, Llargues said.
“They will come out to your house, they’ll take photos, do the inspections, look at the house from the outside, inside, and document everything,” and report it back to FEMA, he said. “Based on what [the inspector] saw and their findings, we’ll give you some kind of eligibility.”
Although it is possible you could be found ineligible for assistance — a decision you can appeal — “there’s no FEMA taking over land, or property or houses”, Llargues said. “That’s false.”
FEMA encouraged people to do their part to stop spreading false information by finding “trusted sources of information” and sharing information from those sources and discouraging “others from sharing information from unverified sources”.
Our ruling
An X post said: “The $750 from FEMA that Kamala Harris is offering them is actually a loan, not real relief. And that if they don’t pay it back the feds can seize their property.”
FEMA’s $750 one-time assistance payments for essential supplies are not loans that need to be repaid, according to the agency and its spokespeople. The agency also does not seize people’s property.
Emergency officials warn these baseless claims serve only to confuse the delivery of aid to disaster-affected people. We rate these claims as false.