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Video of Hurricane Helene survivor moving into apartment captured under Biden | Fact check

Hannah Hudnall   Paste BN
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The claim: Video shows woman displaced by Hurricane Helene who Trump helped

A Jan. 22 Instagram video (direct link, archive link) shows a woman crying and talking about how she's relieved to be moving into new temporary housing.

"#BREAKING: Western North Carolina residents who have been sitting in FEMA hotels for months, are now being moved rapidly into long-term, fully furnished apartments," reads text within the post, which was originally shared on X. "THE TRUMP EFFECT IS HERE!"

The Instagram post garnered more than 250,000 likes in nine days. Other versions of the claim were shared on Instagram, Threads and Facebook.

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Our rating: False

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said the video was captured on Jan. 9 through a program initiated while Joe Biden was president. President Donald Trump was sworn into office more than a week later on Jan. 20.

FEMA video predates Trump presidency

Trump visited communities in western North Carolina on Jan. 24 to speak to those affected by Hurricane Helene's severe flooding. While there, the president vowed to rebuild the impacted areas "in rapid time."

But the video in the Instagram post doesn't show a woman aided by Trump.

FEMA shared the video on YouTube on Jan. 17, three days before Trump's inauguration. The video's caption says the woman moved into temporary housing the previous week with the help of FEMA's Direct Lease program.

The program is a form of direct temporary housing assistance in which FEMA leases available residential properties for hurricane survivors "whose temporary housing needs cannot be met with other forms of assistance," according to an October 2024 FEMA press release. The agency pays the rent, while the tenant pays for utilities and other costs not covered in the lease.

A FEMA spokesperson told Paste BN the woman in the video moved into her new temporary housing on Jan. 9. This was nearly two weeks before Trump took office.Hurricane Helene survivors have been getting approved for apartments since November 2024, the spokesperson said. About 300 applications are being processed and about 150 have been approved for FEMA-approved disaster housing, including five applicants who have moved out for a more permanent solution.

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FEMA also offers transportable temporary housing units and funding for repairs of vacant multi-family rental properties as part of its direct temporary housing assistance, according to an October 2024 press release.

The agency's Direct Lease program has been offered to eligible survivors of natural disasters for years, including those impacted by the 2023 Maui wildfires and Hurricane Ida in 2021.

Paste BN reached out to the Instagram users who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response. The X user couldn't be contacted.

Lead Stories and AFP also debunked the claim.

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