Biden, Harris Make First Visit to States Hit by Hurricane Helene

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Oct. 2 made their first visit to areas impacted by Hurricane Helene, after the devastating storm wreaked havoc on six states throughout the Southeast.

Biden visited North Carolina and South Carolina to tour the damaged areas. The president planned to continue his tour with stops in Georgia and Florida on Oct. 3, according to the White House.

Harris traveled to Augusta, Georgia, to survey impacted areas and provide updates on the federal government’s response.

More than 50 counties across Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina, including land owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, have been designated as major disaster areas by Biden.

The president took off from Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport after speaking with several South Carolina leaders, including Gov. Henry McMaster, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and Greenville Mayor Knox White.

His aerial tour aboard Marine One flew over devastated areas of both Carolinas, including the North Carolina communities of Biltmore Village, Swannanoa, Asheville, Black Mountain, Chimney Rock, and Lake Lure. Among the visible debris were flattened buildings, homes still partially underwater, and fallen trees.

The president was joined by North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer, and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell.

Speaking to reporters during a briefing in Raleigh, North Carolina, Biden announced that he had approved Cooper’s request for 100 percent federal reimbursement of all costs for debris removal and emergency protective measures for six months. He also said that supplemental funding would be needed.

“It’s going to cost billions of dollars to deal with this storm and all the communities affected, and Congress has an obligation to ensure the states have resources they need,” the president said.

Biden’s and Harris’s visits to some of the hurricane-impacted areas come after former President Donald Trump arrived on the ground in Valdosta, Georgia, on Sept. 30.

Trump criticized Biden for the federal government’s inadequate response to the situation. The president also faced scrutiny for spending the weekend at his beach house in Delaware.

“I was commanding it,” Biden told reporters on Sept. 30 after delivering remarks at the White House about the federal government’s response. “I was on the phone for at least two hours yesterday and the day before as well. I commanded it. It’s called a telephone.”

Speaking to reporters on the way to South Carolina on Air Force One, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas defended Biden’s delayed visit to the area, saying the president waited to avoid impeding the rescue efforts.

At least 180 storm-related deaths have been reported, and hundreds of people are still missing.

Recovery efforts at the federal, state, and local levels have been underway for nearly one week. More than $10 million has been provided directly to those affected by Hurricane Helene, according to the White House.

“We have towns that disappeared, literally,” he said, emphasizing the severity of the storm.

Mayorkas stressed that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will run out of money in the event of another storm.

“We are meeting the immediate needs with the money that we have,” he said. “We are expecting another hurricane hitting. We do not have the funds. FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the season.”

However, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Congress had already authorized the disaster relief funds needed for the immediate response.

In comments made before prepared remarks at the New York Stock Exchange on Oct. 1, Johnson said FEMA’s relief fund was replenished with the three-month stopgap spending bill that Biden signed into law last week.

“Congress has previously provided FEMA with the funds it needs to respond, so we will make sure that those resources are appropriately allocated,” Johnson said.

Several lawmakers in states hit by Hurricane Helene are pushing for Congress to return from its October recess to pass additional disaster relief. Congress is not slated to return to Washington until after the November presidential election.

Harris in Georgia

During her visit to Georgia, Harris announced that Biden had approved Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s request for 100 percent federal reimbursement of local costs.

The vice president visited Augusta’s emergency operations center where, along with the briefing, she met with impacted families and business owners and visited a volunteer-run food distribution center.

“I’ve been reading and hearing about the work you’ve been doing over the last few days, and I think it really does represent some of the best of what we each know can be done, especially when we coordinate around local, state, federal resources to meet the needs of people who must be seen, who must be heard,” Harris said to emergency operations officials.

She described the devastation that she saw in Georgia as “extraordinary.”

“It is particularly devastating in terms of the loss of life that this community has experienced, the loss of normalcy, and the loss of critical resources,” Harris said, recalling a conversation that she had with a woman who had lost her husband.

She praised federal, state, and local responders for the work done so far and promised residents that the federal government was “here for the long haul.”

“More than 4,800 personnel from across the Federal workforce are deployed and supporting state-led response efforts across the region,” Frank Matranga, director of FEMA’s individual assistance program, said during a call with reporters on Oct. 1.

More than 6,000 National Guard soldiers from 12 states have been activated, including nearly 4,000 in Florida and 700 in North Carolina.

FEMA has shipped more than 8.8 million meals, more than 7.4 million liters of water, more than 220,000 tarps, and 150 generators.

The American Red Cross said it was housing more than 2,400 people displaced by the hurricane in 75 shelters from Florida to North Carolina as of Sept. 30. While the overall number has decreased, North Carolina’s shelter population continues to increase. Officials in North Carolina confirmed that the state had more than 1,200 occupants in 29 shelters as of Oct. 2.

The Red Cross also has provided nearly 5,000 personnel and 90 emergency response vehicles.

Caden Pearson contributed to this report.