"The "land grab" narrative you've been hearing from people in #WNC is NOT a conspiracy theory.
Here's how it works:
a) Your family lives on 30 acres of land by the river, worth approximately $225,000
b) Helene rolls in and wipes out your home and floods about 50% of your land
c) You now live in a tent with your kids and have applied to get a temporary housing unit from FEMA
d) FEMA shows up, takes a look around and says "sorry, we can't give you a trailer to live in on this land, you are in a flood zone!"
e) You say, "Ok, I don't want to live in a tent with my kids anymore, what should I do?"
f) FEMA says, "You can sell your land to us for the current tax evaluation of $18,000 and we will put you up in a nice warm RV."
g) You say, "Wait, I can't sell this land for $18,000! It's worth at least 10x that and it's the only asset I have."
h) FEMA says, "Ok, no worries. Bye."
i) Now you are stuck living in your tent with your 3 kids wondering if you should sell the only thing you have left to your name just to have a warm place for your family to sleep.
That's the land grab."