anna stearns: we had 2,000 landslides in western north carolina.ut off by the interstate on all sides. we had no rail. for a short time, we had no access to even our airport because there were no communications. given the challenges that they were facing, i think fema's done a pretty good job. william: stearns says, sure, there are valid criticisms of fema, but she argues individual states cannot, on their own, cover the costs or the manpower needed to handle the growing toll from natural disasters. anna stearns: north carolina is not equipped to fund that recovery effort. and we certainly don't have the ability to mobilize personnel to respond to a disaster of this magnitude the way that the federal government does. becky loftis, marion, north carolina, resident: people were without internet and power for days, weeks, some people even months without power and internet, so it was almost impossible to go online and apply. william: becky loftis and her husband had been away on vacation during hurricane helene. when they returned home to the town of m