Raw Story - 'Blow after blow': Survivors of red state hurricane hit by 'devastating' fresh cuts

Travis Gettys
April 22, 2025 5:10PM ET



Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s cuts to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have imperiled hurricane recovery efforts in western North Carolina.

Hurricane Helene devastated the Swannanoa River Valley nearly seven months ago, killing 43 people and destroying homes and businesses in the area. Now Kennedy axed a CDC team that was headed to the region to lead intensive door-to-door efforts to find out what residents need, just days before they were set to arrive, reported CNN.

“We were all packed, my car was packed," said one former CDC staffer. "I went to Costco and bought $50 worth of candy for the team."

The small team from the CDC's disaster epidemiology unit was set to join several dozen state and local volunteers, along with 11 other CDC public health trainees, in the Asheville area. It's the only team of its kind in the federal government – which conflicts with Kennedy's justification for the cuts.

“Many of these offices contain duplicative and redundant functions, in many cases as the result of pet projects or crises that may have happened 20, 30 or even 40 years ago," Kennedy wrote in an op-ed published in the New York Post. "We are not focusing on the right problems, and we are not coordinating our resources in an effective way."

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