President Joe Biden vowed to continue providing Georgia and Florida with full federal assistance as cleanup efforts following Hurricane Helene continue and the death toll from the storm surpassed 200 across the Southeast on Thursday.
During his remarks, Biden quoted former President Jimmy Carter, himself a Georgia native who became the first U.S. president to live to 100 years earlier this week, saying, “Tremendous progress can be made when we persevere through difficult challenges.”
Biden continued, “This storm is extremely difficult for our country. To all the first responders, police officers, and volunteers who ran toward danger, to all the survivors and families who had their lives and livelihoods torn apart, we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.”
Thursday marked Biden’s second day surveying the storm damage, with the president visiting a pecan farm near Valdosta, Georgia, following a similar stop in Tallahassee, Florida, earlier in the day.
On Wednesday, Biden took an aerial tour of flooding in Asheville, North Carolina, and Greenville, South Carolina, on Wednesday before receiving an operational briefing and visiting with first responders in Raleigh.
“In moments like this, it’s time to put politics aside,” he said during his Georgia remarks. “There are no Democrats or Republicans out here.”
“I want you to know I see you, I hear you, I grieve with you, and I promise you we have your back,” the president continued. “We’re going to stay until you’re restored.”
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Biden has approved six months of full federal assistance for search and rescue and debris removal for North Carolina and 90 days for both Florida and Georgia.
According to the White House, 40,000 people have applied for federal disaster assistance, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency has disbursed more than $6 million to survivors in the first week after the storm.
