WASHINGTON — The U.S. government’s top disaster relief official said Sunday that false claims and conspiracy theories about the federal response to Hurricane Helene — spread most prominently by Donald Trump — are “demoralizing” aid workers and creating fear in people who need recovery assistance.

The U.S. government’s top disaster relief official said Sunday that false claims and conspiracy theories about the federal response to Hurricane Helene — spread most prominently by Donald Trump — are “demoralizing” aid workers and creating fear in people who need recovery assistance.

In North Carolina and other states, a barrage of conspiracy theories and false claims over efforts to bring relief after Hurricane Helene is alarming and disheartening officials and workers.

Donald Trump and others have spread claims suggesting officials are withholding assistance from Republican storm victims. And that's forcing public officials, including members of Mr. Trump's own party,

Florida on Sunday prepared for the state's largest evacuation since 2017 as Tropical Storm Milton intensified in the Gulf of Mexico on its path toward Florida's western coast, coming on the heels of the devastating Hurricane Helene.

Florida is working to clear debris from Hurricane Helene ahead of Hurricane Milton. Gov. Ron DeSantis warned that storm surge could be worse than Helen and residents are racing to preparing ahead of the storm.

Florida is bracing as Hurricane Milton rapidly intensified into a Category 1 storm on Sunday, days before it’s expected to make landfall on the state’s Gulf Coast where communities are still dealing with the effects of Hurricane Helene.

More than 200 people have died in Helene’s path, making it one of the deadliest hurricanes to hit in the mainland U.S. since 1950.

The death toll from Hurricane Helene inched up to 227 as the grim task of recovering bodies continued more than a week after the monster storm ravaged the Southeast and killed people in six states.