Hurricane Helene battered southeastern states in late September, killing at least 230 people, damaging infrastructure and flooding homes.
The cleanup continued Tuesday in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, the Carolinas, Virginia, and Tennessee after landfall on September 26.
In the mayhem, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criswell has warned against misinformation online, while others, including Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, have criticized the agency’s response.
The small town of Candler in North Carolina found itself at the center of one viral claim this week.
The Claim
Claims circulated online that a number of people—ranging from 200 to 2,000—were stranded in a church in Candler for nearly a week.
The claim about 2,000 stranded residents originated in a post on Facebook which has since been deleted.
The post said: “They just radio’d and said they found 2000 more people who are stranded at a church in Candler NC, who haven’t eaten in 6 days. We literally ran back and forth and filled the chopper as fast as we could!”
The poster described delivering groceries to the stranded, adding: “Keep the donations coming if you are able!”
An aerial view of flood damage caused by Hurricane Helene along the French Broad River on October 3, 2024 in Marshall, North Carolina. A viral claim suggested that hundreds of people were left stranded in a church in Candler, North Carolina.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
Similar posts later spread on Facebook and X, formerly Twitter, often lowering the number of people to 200.
One of these posts on X, which was posted late on Saturday, has reached nearly 1 million views.
The Facts
Many parts of North Carolina suffered major flooding due to Helene, with the city of Asheville, which is about 10-15 miles from Candler, particularly badly affected.
Candler was also impacted to a lesser degree, with the Washington Post and other outlets reporting power and water supplies had been temporarily affected in some areas.
It contains at least five churches. Newsweek contacted five of the most prominent churches in the area via email on Monday to ask for confirmation or denial of the claim people were holed up for six days.
Edgewood Baptist Church told Newsweek that no such event happened at its site in Candler. “I have seen that circulating online but have not heard of that happening in person,” a spokesperson said via email Wednesday.
Asked about the claim, Lindsey Prather, North Carolina’s House of Representative from the 115th district, told Newsweek: “That rumor is false.”
Several local residents also took to social media to cast doubt on the claims.
Local residents addressed the claim in a local Facebook group “Hurricane Helene Safety Check-In,” which has over 500,000 members and is used as a forum to share information and discuss storm safety.
One resident wrote in the group, in a post that now appears to be unavailable, to state that there were no corroborating reports from on the ground.
The writer added that Candler had not been as badly affected as nearby areas, and that she doubted a church in Candler could even hold 2,000 people. Candler has a population of between 25,000 and 30,000 people.
FEMA has been contacted via email for comment on Monday and the local Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office via online form on Friday.
In the wake of Hurricane Helene, misinformation has swirled online. FEMA has set up a dedicated website page to respond to widespread rumors.
The Ruling
False.
On the balance of probabilities, the claim is likely false.
There has been no corroboration, with one of at least five churches in the small town confirming it did not occur there.
A local state representative has categorically denied it took place, while local residents have also doubted the claim, with some denying the event happened.
FACT CHECK BY Newsweek
