The Washington Post reports:

One day after Helene slammed into Asheville, N.C., leading to seven trees falling on her house and destroying her roof, Nicole McNeill read an alarming article that warned a second storm was barreling toward the area.

McNeill, 43, had a panic attack, her anxiety spiking and her heart pounding. She knew she didn’t have enough gasoline in her car to evacuate from yet another disaster.

But it was all a hoax.

“The second storm turned out to be a nonsensical rumor,” said McNeill, who works at a strategic communications firm focused on climate change. “And when you are with limited cell service and you come across misinformation, you can make a split-second decision that can have life-or-death consequences.”

Across the Southeast, false rumors and conspiracy theories are flying about Helene, which made landfall as a major hurricane about a week ago, causing at least 229 deaths in six states. The misinformation is adding to the chaos and confusion in many storm-battered communities, including many rural areas that lack power and cell service, leading locals to rely on word of mouth.

Officials have sought to tamp down the misinformation that has continued to spread online. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has been updating a webpage seeking to dispute common rumors, while the North Carolina Department of Public Safety has done the same, writing that authorities were “working around-the-clock to save lives and provide humanitarian relief.”

FEMA also said in a news release Saturday that federal aid provided had topped $110 million so far. The agency said it had more than 700 of its staff on the ground in North Carolina and that more than 1,200 search and rescue personnel were at work there, among other officials.

The Army on Saturday was preparing to expand the active-duty military relief mission and send an additional 500 U.S. troops on top of those already approved by President Joe Biden, said Col. Jimmy Hathaway, the director of operations for U.S. Army North.

The planned increase, which has not previously been reported, would push the number of active-duty forces involved in relief efforts to about 1,500, after the approval of 1,000 from Fort Liberty, N.C., that were in the process of joining the mission on Saturday.

Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in Charlotte on Saturday afternoon, where the press pool showed she was greeted by local officials — including North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) — and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell. During brief remarks, Harris said Mecklenburg County would be added to the major disaster declaration.

In western North Carolina this week, some residents shared false information that a dam was about to burst, prompting hundreds of people to unnecessarily evacuate and diverting the attention of first responders. In eastern Tennessee, some locals spread a hoax about federal officials seizing and bulldozing a town hall. And in many parts of the Southeast, a debunked conspiracy theory has circulated about FEMA spending disaster relief money on helping migrants who are in the country illegally.

In places with internet access, such falsehoods have flourished on social media platforms such as X. The tech company has pulled back on efforts to combat misinformation after its takeover by billionaire Elon Musk, prompting concern from many disaster experts.

“There’s always misinformation that flows during disasters, but after Helene, it is really difficult to find good and accurate information,” said Sam Montano, a disaster expert and assistant professor of emergency management at Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

“When Musk bought Twitter, there were many of us in the disaster space who warned that there would likely be changes that would make the platform less useful during disasters,” Montano added. “I think that we’re seeing that manifest now.” [Continue reading…]