Hurricane Helene devastated a 500 mile stretch of our country last week, ravaging the American South with flash floods, tornadoes, and mudslides. Millions of Americans are still without power, hundreds of thousands without cell service, and over one hundred thousand are without access to clean drinking water. The death toll has surpassed 140 so far, with thousands still missing, and damages in the range of tens of billions of dollars.

In the wake of this destruction, the American people ask: “Where is the government? Where have my tax dollars been going? Who will help us?”

As the hurricane tore through the South, President Biden was napping at his beach house in Delaware, Vice President Harris was at a press event at the Arizona border, and President Trump was on a campaign rally tour. Although the White House has issued grandstanding statements and offered some FEMA assistance, the overall response has been slow and inadequate with preparations sorely lacking. Congress remains away on recess.

During the hurricane, the White House pledged another $2.4 billion to Ukraine and $8.7 billion to Israel while National Guard units from Georgia and Tennessee were deployed abroad. Mainstream media overlooks Helene while providing primetime coverage of foreign conflicts. The United States government has over-extended our country’s resources through a preponderance of foreign wars, prioritizing the remnants of our imperialist global hegemony over American lives. The South, long abandoned and condemned by its own federal government, remains in crisis.

The American Communist Party (ACP) is responding to this disaster. Our chapters in Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida are organizing relief efforts, participating in local drives, and aiding in rebuilding. Helene is a stark reminder that local organizing, neighbors, and families — not distant politicians — form the bedrock of society. The ACP understands that we must secure and enhance local power to build community resilience.

The working class of America is one people, and we prove this every day in our collective efforts to survive and rebuild in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. The U.S. government is a weapon of the declining capitalist class, and We The People are taking up the task of forging our future. The ACP proudly stands alongside the masses.