President Joe Biden stressed he is “ready to mobilize” support for states impacted by Hurricane Idalia as the storm, which made landfall in Florida as a Category 3 hurricane Wednesday morning continues to batter the Southeast. 

What You Need To Know

  • President Joe Biden said he spoke with governors of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina as Hurricane Idalia pummels Southeast 

  • FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell traveled to Florida on Wednesday at Biden’s direction to help assess impacts of the storm
  • The federal government already has more than 1,500 responders on the ground, including more than 300 FEMA personnel and more than 500 people from urban search and rescue, Criswell said

  • FEMA has readied supplies such as food and water that can be distributed at the request of states and the American Red Cross is prepared to shelter up to 20,000 people

During remarks on the federal government’s response to the hurricane on Wednesday afternoon, the president said he “made a point to speak to all the governors most likely to be impacted by this storm,” including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper. 

“I let each governor I spoke with know if there's anything, anything the state's need right now, I'm ready to mobilize that support of what they need,” Biden said Wednesday. 

The president emphasized his administration’s early response, including speaking with DeSantis on Monday and approving Florida’s emergency declaration “to enable him to have the full support ahead of time to protect the people's lives in the state of Florida.” 

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell – who traveled to Florida on Wednesday at Biden’s direction to help assess impacts of the storm – said during a White House briefing earlier in the day that the federal government already has more than 1,500 responders on the ground, including more than 300 FEMA personnel and more than 500 people from urban search and rescue. 

Biden added that he also directed the redeployment of more than 900 Coast Guard personnel throughout the region. 

The White House says FEMA has readied supplies such as food and water that can be distributed at the request of states and the American Red Cross is prepared to shelter up to 20,000 people. 

As the storm has left hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses without power, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is ready to assist in restoring power with more than 30 generators that are pre-staged, Criswell said on Wednesday. 

“The impacts of this storm are being felt throughout the Southeast, even as it moves up the Eastern coast of the United States affecting Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, and we have to remain vigilant. And there’s much more to do,” Biden said. 

Criswell said her main concern currently is the people who chose not to evacuate, noting the priority through Wednesday is making sure everyone is safe before teams move to assessing damages over the next few days. 

“We're already getting reports of people that chose to stay and they're getting calls into the local first responders to come in and assist them,” she said.

“Our local first responders, the heroes that are out there in those local communities, are doing an amazing job already of going into the areas where people did not evacuate and helping to get them to safety.” 

The president emphasized he and DeSantis are putting politics aside to work together on the response to the storm – pointing to the pair’s joint efforts on Hurricane Ian last year. 

“I think he trusts my judgment and my desire to help and I trust him to be able to suggest that this is not about politics, this is about taking care of the people of the state,” Biden said. 

Criswell noted on Wednesday that DeSantis said all of his needs from the federal government are currently met. 

The president also used his speech Wednesday to emphasize the impacts of climate change. 

“I don't think anybody can deny the impact of a climate crisis anymore,” he said, repeating a sentiment he expressed in July as much of the country faced a brutal heat wave.