US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris They visited areas devastated by Hurricane Helene on Wednesday where thousands of first responders joined the efforts to rescue and assist the millions affected by the storm.
Biden flew to the states of North and South Carolina, while Harris was in Georgia, a day after his electoral rival, Republican Donald Trump, tried to turn disaster management into campaign ammunition.
In South Carolina, Biden was with local teams who briefed him on the immense rescue and reconstruction efforts, in which more than 10,000 federal officials, first responders and the National Guard.
The storm caused torrential rains, strong winds and flooding that left at least 159 dead in six states in the southeastern United States.
The president then flew by helicopter over the city of Ashevillein North Carolina, where he observed the devastation: collapsed bridges, lakes filled with debris, demolished buildings and washed out roads.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who was traveling with the president, described Helene as a storm of “historic strength” that caused calamitous flooding in cities and remote mountain communities.
“We have towns that have literally disappeared”said. “This is a multi-billion-dollar, multi-year recovery.”
Biden announced the deployment of up to 1,000 troops to North Carolina to reinforce the emergency response in devastated communities.
“These soldiers will accelerate the delivery of vital supplies of food, water and medicine to isolated communities in North Carolina,” the president said in a statement.
“We are here for you and we will stay here as long as necessary,” he added.
Harris, who replaced Biden as the Democratic nominee for the Nov. 5 election, traveled separately to the southern state of Georgia, another hard-hit state.
There he visited an operations center in Augusta, where he praised the work of first responders.
“It truly represents the best that each of us knows can be done, especially when we coordinate local, state and federal resources.” to meet the needs of the people who must be served which must be heard,” Harris said.
He later met with residents of a storm-ravaged Augusta neighborhood, where debris was scattered across the street and trees had fallen, including one on top of a home.
North Carolina and Georgia are two of seven crucial swing states that will likely decide the outcome of the US election. Early voting has already begun in several states.
The White House announced Wednesday that Biden will also travel to Florida, where the storm made landfall last week as a Category 4 hurricane, and to Georgia on Thursday to visit affected communities.
The floods caused by Helene caused enormous devastation in the Appalachian Mountains region, leaving isolated cities and towns.
In Tennessee, a major search operation was underway near the Nolichucky River, whose flow reached record levels.
“There are still people missing,” Gov. Bill Lee said at a news conference.
The visits by Biden and Harris come a day after vice presidential candidates, Republican JD Vance and Democrat Tim Walz, faced off in a surprisingly civil debate, the last before Election Day.
Both acknowledged having common points on multiple issues, including the situation of those affected by the storm. Vance said: “We want the strongest federal response and aggressive as possible to save as many lives as possible.
But former Republican President Trump had previously tried to gain political mileage from the disaster, accusing the government, without evidence, of ignoring the crisis and denying aid to his supporters.
Responding to the allegations, Biden told reporters on Monday that Trump was “lying” and called his attacks “irresponsible.”
Political storm over Helene comes as Biden and Harris weather a series of crises just a month before the elections among these the worsening situation in the Middle East, where Iran fired missiles at Israel, after the latter expanded its military operations to Lebanon.
In addition, the White House is trying to resolve a strike by American dock workers that threatens the country’s economy, a major issue before the elections.