President Joe Biden on Tuesday said his “top priority” in the wake of Hurricane Helene is ensuring impacted communities get the support they need “as quickly as possible.”
“People are scared to death, people wonder whether they’re gonna make it,” Biden said on Tuesday. “This is urgent. People have to know how to know how to get the information they need.”
Biden called for a “jumpstart of this recovery process” and reiterated his pledge that his administration will stay in affected states “until the work is done.”
“In the storm’s wake, I’ve directed my team, including the leadership of key departments and agencies all across the government to send every – and I mean this seriously – every available resource that we have at our disposal to affected regions.”
His comments at the White House on Tuesday came as he received an updated briefing on his administration’s on-going response to the storm.
“The Department of Defense, Agriculture, HHS, Transportation, Energy, Homeland Security, EPA, Commerce, Small Business Association and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, we need to be all working together,” Biden said, adding they were set to discuss “continued coordination” on Tuesday.
Hurricane Helene made landfall on Thursday last week as a category 4 hurricane in Florida’s Big Bend region before sweeping through several other states in the Southern part of the country. More than 150 people across six states have been killed as a result of the storm, with hundreds still missing.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters at Tuesday’s White House press briefing that states were in different phases of response depending on how the storm hit their communities. Some, he said, are still in the search and rescue operation phase while others are in response and recovery. More than 3,500 federal personnel are on the ground supporting response efforts in impacted communities, the White House said.
Biden is set to travel to North Carolina and South Carolina on Wednesday, where he will meet with first responders and state and local officials and take an aerial tour of impacted areas. FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell is currently on the ground in North Carolina along with 1,200 other federal personnel.
Vice President Kamala Harris, meanwhile, will visit Augusta, Georgia on Wednesday before heading to North Carolina “in the coming days,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Tuesday.
Biden on Tuesday approved a major disaster declaration for Georgia, which the White House says will allow individuals in 41 counties to apply for FEMA assistance.
Since Thursday, 17 counties in Florida, 13 counties in South Carolina and 25 counties in North Carolina have also been declared emergencies eligible for disaster relief and emergency assistance.
People can apply on the FEMA App, at disasterassistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-3362.
Biden on Tuesday also noted that recovery from the damage is going to cost billions.
“I think it's going to cost billions of dollars to restore these areas to where they were before,” he said.
On Monday Biden told reporters that he expects to ask Congress to approve supplemental funding for recovery efforts and may have to direct lawmakers to return to Washington from their recess – not set to end until after the election – to pass the additional funds.
Spectrum News' Susan Carpenter contributed to this report.