US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris visited the states of South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia on Wednesday to see first-hand the devastation caused by Hurricane Helen in the southeastern United States, which claimed the lives of at least 160 people.
Biden landed in Greer, South Carolina, where he was met by South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, US Senator Lindsey Graham and North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, among others, before boarding Marine One for an aerial tour of the region.
From the helicopter, Biden was able to see the horrific devastation in parts of North Carolina, including Asheville and Chimney Rock. Reporters in a helicopter following them observed that homes were destroyed in the Asheville metropolitan area, and damage was greatest near rivers.
Many people living in the area remained cut off from contact with the outside world, even as the US President passed through the sky.
In the River Arts district of Asheville, located on the banks of the French Broad River, receding floodwaters have left chaos behind. Rescuers continue to comb the state’s mountains in search of survivors.
“You can clearly see the homes that have moved from one side of the river down the river to the other side,” Biden said in Raleigh, North Carolina, before a news conference. “And I can only imagine what it would be like to be in one of those houses.”
“Dealing with this storm and all the affected communities will cost billions of dollars,” Biden said.
Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris poses for a photo as she helps distribute food with the American Red Cross at the Henry Brigham Community Center in Augusta, Georgia, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Carolyn Custer).
Meanwhile, Harris was briefed in Augusta, Georgia, alongside Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff and Representative Rick Allen. She joined Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson to survey the city’s Meadowbrook neighborhood.
“There is real pain and trauma that came from this hurricane and what happened in its aftermath,” Harris said, adding that she spoke with a community member whose daughter lost her husband.
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“We’re here for the long haul,” Harris said. “There’s a lot of work that’s going to happen.”
US officials say rebuilding will be very expensive and take years.
Former President Donald Trump, a Republican who is competing with Harris in this year’s presidential election, falsely claimed that Biden, a Democrat, did not respond to the devastation caused by the hurricane, a claim that local officials deny.
“In a moment like this, we put politics aside,” Biden said in Raleigh. “There are no Democrats and no Republicans, there are only Americans. Our mission is to help as many people as we can, as quickly and as hard as we can.
Before leaving Washington, Biden directed up to 1,000 active-duty troops to assist in response and recovery efforts. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said nearly 6,000 National Guard members were deployed in the six states affected by the storm.
Search and rescue teams conducted nearly 1,500 structural assessments and hundreds of rescue and evacuations, Mayorkas said.
Biden also on Wednesday approved requests from Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and North Carolina’s Cooper for federal funds for debris removal and emergency protective measures for three and six months, respectively.
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden will head to Georgia and Florida on Thursday.
Harris will travel to North Carolina in the coming days.
Jean-Pierre said more than $10 million had been provided directly to those affected by the storm.
More than 4,800 individuals from across the federal workforce have been deployed to assist in recovery efforts, along with 8.8 million meals, more than 7.4 million liters of water and 150 emergency power generators, Mayorkas said.
However, the Homeland Security Secretary said federal funding may not be enough in the event of another hurricane.
“We meet the present moment, but this does not speak to the future,” Mayorkas said. “We expect another hurricane to hit. … FEMA does not have the funds to get through the season.
North Carolina and Georgia are among seven key states in the November 5 election, which are expected to be won narrowly. Harris now leads Trump by 2.6 percentage points in national polls, according to FiveThirtyEight.
North Carolina election officials are striving to make sure the state’s more than 7 million registered voters can cast ballots in federal, state and local elections.
Earlier this week, Trump visited Georgia. Presidents and presidential candidates typically do not visit a storm-affected area immediately due to concerns that they will distract from rescue efforts and divert resources from local law enforcement officials and emergency responders.
Hurricane Helen hit Florida on Thursday as a powerful Category 4 hurricane before cutting a devastating path across Southeastern states for several days.
