Hurricane Ian hit Florida's Gulf Coast on Sept. 28, causing the death of more than 100 people and leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power. More than 1,600 staff members from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, were deployed to the state to assist with recovery efforts.
An Oct. 2 Facebook video claims the Navy sunk a large ship operated by the agency that was en route to South Carolina, which also suffered damage from the hurricane.
“Navy SEALs Sink FEMA Barge Headed to South Carolina (sic),” reads the video's caption. The post was viewed 22,000 times within two days.
But Navy and FEMA officials said the claim is baseless. And FEMA does not operate any barges or large ships as described in the video, according to FEMA press secretary Jeremy Edwards.
The video attached to the post does not include evidence to support the claim.
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USA TODAY reached out to the users who shared the claim for comment.
Both Edwards and Travis Callahan, a spokesperson for the Navy, said the claim is false.
The video attached to the post describes the supposed FEMA barges as “transport vessels,” as well as “hospital ships” and “temporary relocation shelters” that are several hundred feet long and several stories tall. The video claims these massive boats are used as temporary shelters for people.
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