Misinformation and rumors often circulate amid natural disasters, as information is scarce and tensions are high. But the scale and speed of falsehoods that have circulated during Helene and Milton have surprised officials, including Ms. Criswell, who said on Tuesday that she had “anticipated some of this, but not to the extent that we’re seeing.”

Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell predicted Tuesday that rumors and disinformation will become a regular part of natural disaster response moving forward, and rebuked those seeking to benefit politically from spreading false information.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has been fighting misinformation since Helene slammed into Florida nearly two weeks ago.

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said the swirl of false conspiracy theories around Hurricane Helene is dissuading survivors from seeking help and hurting morale among responders. “It is absolutely the worst I have ever seen,” Criswell told reporters on a Tuesday morning call.

Misinformation spread during Hurricane Helene's recovery efforts is "extremely damaging," a top Federal Emergency Management Agency official said Monday. "This type of misinformation is just, it's damaging to the overall efforts,

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) warned Tuesday that falsehoods related to hurricanes are significantly impeding their response efforts, and putting hundreds of thousands of lives at risk as Hurricane Milton barrels toward Florida and others pick up the pieces from Hurricane Helene.