At least 180 people died as a result of storm Helene. Hundreds remain missing. US President Biden and his deputy Harris are traveling in the areas and are promising help.
US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris personally got an idea of the situation in the disaster areas after the devastating storm “Helene”, which left at least 180 dead. Hundreds of people are still missing. The number of victims could therefore continue to rise.
Biden first visited Greenville, South Carolina, and then traveled to the city of Raleigh, North Carolina. “I toured western North Carolina from the air,” Biden said at a meeting with local emergency authorities and again promised comprehensive help. “My heart beats for everyone who has suffered this unimaginable loss. We will not let you down.”
1,000 soldiers are to be mobilized
The president had previously announced that he would mobilize up to 1,000 soldiers to help distribute food, water and other urgently needed supplies.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who traveled with Biden, described Helene as a storm of “historic strength” that caused devastating flooding. “We have cities that have literally disappeared,” he said. The reconstruction will take several years and cost several billion dollars.
Biden’s deputy Harris was in the state of Georgia at the same time. There she thanked the rescue workers, who sometimes rushed to help complete strangers despite their own losses. “That’s one of the beautiful things about this country: that people really stick together in such emergency situations,” said Harris in the city of Augusta. “This really highlights the fact that the vast majority of us have so much more in common than what divides us.”
Extreme weather is becoming an election campaign issue
The statement was probably an indirect swipe at her opponent Donald Trump. The Democrat is running against the Republican in the presidential election on November 5th. The storm and its consequences could become a political issue shortly before the election.
Similar to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which put pressure on the government under Republican George W. Bush, the current administration is also under critical scrutiny regarding its crisis management. Trump is already trying to use the disaster for his election campaign.
North Carolina and Georgia are two of the seven so-called swing states. In elections, they traditionally vote sometimes for the Republican candidate and sometimes for the Democratic candidate and are therefore particularly competitive.
Many deaths and devastating destruction
“Helene” made landfall as a second-highest category hurricane on Thursday evening in northwest Florida, then weakened slightly and moved further north. The storm left immense devastation in six states.
Today Biden is traveling to the affected areas in Florida and Georgia. Harris also plans further visits to the storm-ravaged regions in the coming days.