NORTH CAROLINA, USA — President Joe Biden was in Raleigh on Wednesday, Oct. 2 to speak on the disastrous damage western North Carolina has faced in the wake of Hurricane Helene.
Biden flew over Asheville, NC by helicopter as part of a tour to survey Helene's path of destruction. The president is scheduled to visit parts of Florida and Georgia on Thursday.
After surveying the damage, Biden was joined by North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper and Director of North Carolina Emergency Management (NCEM) William Ray in Raleigh.
Cooper started the evening briefing by calling the damage "catastrophic and unprecedented" and acknowledged the region has a long road to recovery.
He discussed the various relief and rescue efforts deployed to western North Carolina, including 92 search and rescue teams in the area.
Then it was the president's turn to speak.
"The nation has your back," declared Biden. "We're not leaving until you're back on your feet completely."
Biden announced he approved Cooper's request for the federal government to cover 100% of North Carolina's costs related to debris removal, clearing landslides, providing shelters, supplying food and medicine and more for six months.
Cooper prompted the room to erupt in applause.
North Carolina's National Guard will be reinforced with 1,000 soldiers from Fort Liberty, effective Wednesday, Biden said. He said this would speed up supply delivery to isolated areas of WNC.
"Simply put, we've got the capabilities to get the job done and we're gonna get it done fast as possible," said Biden.
The president said 50 Starlinks are in place across the state with more on the way to aid in communication efforts.
The relief efforts will cost billions of dollars, according to the president.
Biden closed his remarks by addressing climate change. He called those who deny the impacts of climate change "brain dead".
The president thanked those helping with relief efforts before turning it over to Ray.
Ray gave a brief update on Hurricane Helene's treacherous impact on the region.
Here's a breakdown:
- According to NCEM, the western region of North Carolina had already been saturated with 9 inches of rain prior to Helene
- During the storm, Yancey County received the most rain, reaching an eye-watering 31 inches
- There were 8 confirmed tornadoes across North Carolina
- Over 1 million power outages
- The amount of outages has now been reduced to about 350,000.
- 21 counties had flash flood emergencies
- 29 shelters have opened with just over 1,000 occupants
- 30 mass feeding sites distributing hot meals across 10 counties
- 24 search and rescue teams are from NC, 13 teams are from outside of NC
- 26 aircraft have lifted over 700,000 pounds of cargo into the area
The NCEM said it is focused on continuing Life Safety missions, increasing the speed of resource distribution and supporting healthcare, water and power infrastructure.