President Joe Biden said he expects to visit areas destroyed by Hurricane Helene later in the week and insisted he was in command despite being at his beach house over the weekend when the deadly storm made landfall.
“I’ve told the governor of North Carolina I’ll go down, and I expect to be down there by Wednesday or Thursday when it is clear for me,” Biden told reporters at the White House.
“I’m committed to traveling to impacted areas as soon as possible, but I’ve been told that it would be disruptive if I did it right now,” noted the president.
President Biden also became defensive when asked how he was in command while spending the weekend at his vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, while the hurricane was devastating parts of the South.
“I was commanding; I was on the phone for at least two hours yesterday and the day before as well. I commanded, it’s called a telephone,” Biden stated.
He additionally noted that he spoke with the governors of North Carolina and Georgia, two of the states hardest hit by the storm.
At least 121 deaths in six states have been accredited to the storm — a toll that continued to climb Monday as a more precise picture emerged of the destruction it inflicted on an area that stretched from the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia to Florida’s Gulf Coast.
Over 600 individuals are still missing.
“We’re not leaving until the job is done,” said Biden.
I-64, a major interstate, and roads have been wiped out in many of these areas, making it treacherous and difficult to bring supplies. Federal, local, and National Guard officials are rushing to bring relief.
Over 460,000 people lack power, and over 1,000 have taken refuge in 24 shelters.
Search and rescue teams from the U.S. government and 19 states have converged on North Carolina, said Governor Roy Cooper, adding that some roads could take several months to repair.
Donald Trump headed to Georgia on Monday
In the meantime, GOP presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump headed to Georgia Monday to address the efforts to help hurricane victims.
When reporters asked if the former president would be disruptive, Biden replied, “I don’t have any idea.”
Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has canceled her planned Monday campaign stops to return to Washington D.C. for Hurricane Helene briefings.
According to her campaign, on Monday afternoon, Harris was set to attend a FEMA briefing. She will also visit the devastated areas when it isn’t disruptive to emergency response efforts.
Forecasters and insurers said over the weekend that estimates of damage ranged from $15 billion to over $100 billion as critical transportation routes, water systems, and communications were affected.
When officials assess the destruction, lost economic output and property damage will be made clearer.
A U.S. Energy Department official said around 2.7 million customers throughout the South lacked power Sunday, down 40 percent from Friday after perilous conditions, unprecedented storm surges, and savage winds extended inland hundreds of miles.
