North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson has spent the last five days leading a disaster-relief and resupply operation in western North Carolina communities still reeling from rushing flood waters dumped by Hurricane Helene while flaunting government prohibition of private aircraft that could hamper or threaten official response efforts in tightly restricted airspace.
Joined by local elected officials and law enforcement in Louisburg, northeast of Raleigh, Robinson on Wednesday issued his own update on storm recovery operations, independent of the official government-led response overseen by Gov. Roy Cooper.
In a statement published on the Lieutenant Governor’s website, Robinson said he has “scaled our team up to a 24/7 operation to deliver much-needed supplies to the people in most affected areas of western North Carolina, as quickly as possible.”
Since beginning emergency response operations last week in coordination with Franklin County Sheriff Kevin White, Robinson said his team has performed dozens of rescue missions with local and privately owned aircraft, and delivered hundreds of thousands of pounds of resources.
“These efforts would not have been achieved without the tireless work and coordination of law enforcement, local leaders, and volunteers from across our state,” Robinson said. “This has been a team effort, and I am grateful for everyone’s contributions. When times get tough, North Carolina knows how to come together to help our neighbors and friends in need. The work is just getting started, and there is so much more to do, but we’re thankful for everyone who is pitching in any way they can.”
Nation Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson and Franklin County Sheriff Kevin White. Mark Robinson photo
Robinson has been on the ground in western North Carolina since Sept. 28, traveling with local officials to some of the affected areas and working with state and community leaders, including White, and other Sheriffs from across North Carolina, to take critical supplies from the east and bring them west to those in need, he said.
“We’re proud to be working with Lt. Gov. Robinson’s office and our state and local partners on these critical relief efforts,” White said. “My office will continue doing all we can to support our friends and neighbors in need in the aftermath of this devastating storm. Communities across western North Carolina are counting on us, and we can’t let them down. We thank all the staff, volunteers and donors who have stepped up, worked around the clock and given much-needed supplies. And we continue to ask everyone to keep doing all they can to help.”
Airspace in the North Carolina mountains has been tightly restricted since the National Guard began air resupply and rescue operations over the weekend. Private airplane and drone pilots have been warned to avoid flying over the affected area, which could hamper or threaten military and other government aircraft performing rescue missions.
Robinson on Thursday lashed out at government officials attempting to ground lone-wolf pilots who have flown helicopter and private planes into the disaster zone.
“If you work for the government and are stopping private pilots, charities, churches or volunteers from assisting in rescue efforts, you are not ‘just doing your job.’ Quite the opposite. You are in fact part of the problem,” Robinson wrote in a post on X. “Government bureaucracy is almost always inefficient, in this case it is deadly.”
Robinson, the MAGA Republican running for Governor against Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein, has repeatedly dismissed the government response to Helene as inadequate. He said on Thursday that government had been slow to deliver following the crisis and praised the efforts of Samaritan’s Purse, a charitable organization run by evangelist Franklin Graham.
Mark Robinson, left, with evangelical leader Franklin Graham, whose charity Samaritan’s Purse is helping with hurricane relief efforts. Mark Robinson photo
On Tuesday, Robinson said it was “absolute insanity” that “virtually every single aircraft currently running missions are privately owned. The few that aren’t are owned by states other than North Carolina.”
He posted photos of a twin-engine Casa C-212 Aviocar aircraft owned by Paraclete Aviation out of Raeford, North Carolina. The company is owned by former Army Golden Knights parachutist Tim D’Annunzio, who ran twice — in 2012 and 2016 — for North Carolina congressional seats as a Republican and once in 2014 as a Libertarian.
As of Oct. 1, North Carolina Air National Guard aircraft had delivered more than 600,000 pounds of food, water, and supplies by air into western North Carolina. They had also completed 146 flight missions, resulting in the rescue of 538 people and 150 pets.
On Thursday, the National Guard asked the public to “please avoid traveling towards the Asheville area by ground or air. These actions will impede such operations.”
Robinson on Tuesday declared that given the historic devastation Helene doled out in western North Carolina, “the time for politics is over. We are talking about saving people’s lives here.”
He praised the red-tape cutting of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and said North Carolina should “stop waiting on federal resources and allow private industry in to assist with rescue and recovery efforts, and repair infrastructure immediately.”
Later that same day, he slammed President Joe Biden, who visited the state on Wednesday, for failing to provide ample emergency supplies.
“Joe Biden told the people of North Carolina they had no more supplies for us,” Robinson wrote on X. “Franklin County has been running round the clock convoys on behalf of my office since Saturday night. … When Joe Biden and the federal government failed to act, Sheriff White and his team took the bull by the horns.”
