WASHINGTON – Vice President Kamala Harris, during a visit to North Carolina on Saturday, met with local officials for an update on Hurricane Helen recovery efforts and spoke with several families affected by the devastating storm. Support was provided at the donation center.
Harris announced additional funding for the Eastern Cherokee Indian Nation and disaster victims in 27 counties across the state during a news conference with officials, including Asheville Mayor Esther Mannheimer and Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles. provided the latest information regarding the large-scale disaster declaration.
After the press conference, Harris met privately with families affected by the storm. Hurricane Helen, a Category 4 hurricane, made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region on September 26, killing more than 200 people and leaving thousands without power and drinking water.
The White House said one family Harris met with was forced to temporarily move from western North Carolina to Charlotte with their 6-month-old child until it was safe to return home. Harris also met with those who assisted in lifesaving recovery efforts during the floods in western North Carolina.
Harris also met with volunteers at the donation center to discuss efforts to deliver supplies to communities across the state hardest hit by Helen, including Asheville and Morganton. The vice president also joined the production line, putting deodorant and bar soap into plastic resealable bags.
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“You are our heroes,” Democratic presidential candidate Harris told volunteers at the donation center. “Because I believe that in moments of crisis, heroes emerge who just stand up to help those in need and show the kind of strength that people should feel for each other.”
One of the volunteers, Angelica Wind, from Asheville, brought her daughter and a friend to the donation center “to get some semblance of normalcy for a few days.” Harris asked about Wind’s family, and she said they had just received power back.
Wind emphasized that many people in her community are still missing and people are still grieving and hurting.
“But there’s also a lot of resilience,” Wind says. “There’s a lot of resilience. The community is coming together.”
Before visiting the donation center, Harris greeted National Guard members at Charlotte Air National Guard Base who were loading pallets of emergency supplies onto military planes to be sent to communities in western North Carolina.
โI know what this means for each of you as leaders at a time when local people have had their homes, families, friends, acquaintances, and communities directly affected.โ Harris made the remarks in advance of a news conference at the North Carolina Air National Guard on the airport grounds.
Harris’ visit comes just one month before the 2024 presidential election, which is expected to be a close race against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. North Carolina is considered a crucial battleground state, and the speed and effectiveness of the Biden administration’s response efforts could have an impact on the election race.
President Trump has also visited disaster-hit areas in Georgia, Florida and North Carolina in recent days.
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Where is Tim Walz?
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, headlined a Harris campaign fundraising event in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Saturday.
The governor spent at least an hour at the event, held at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. After his stop in Cincinnati, Walz departed for Cleveland, where he was scheduled to headline another fundraising event.
โ Rebecca Morin and Sharon Coolidge, USA TODAY Network
Another hurricane is expected to hit Florida after Helen
The National Hurricane Center has issued advisories for at least three storm systems as Tropical Storm Helen continues to clear out across the Southeast. One of the planes could land on Florida’s west coast within the next few days.
The National Hurricane Center announced Saturday that Tropical Storm Milton has strengthened into a “near major hurricane” and could have life-threatening impacts. Forecasters say the storm is approaching the Florida Gulf Coast with winds of 110 mph and could make landfall near Tampa by midweek.
Forecasters are also tracking two other storm systems. One is Hurricane Kirk, a Category 3 storm covering the open ocean of the Atlantic Ocean, and the other is Hurricane Leslie, a Category 1 storm following Kirk. As of Saturday, neither was scheduled to make landfall.
โ Carissa Wadick
What kind of FEMA support does North Carolina have?
As communities across North Carolina continue to recover from Hurricane Helen, FEMA provided assistance and staff to the state. According to the White House, the breakdown is as follows:
Provided $26 million in housing and other assistance to more than 25,000 families in North Carolina. More than 5.4 million meals and 6.3 million liters of water were transported to the state. 700 FEMA employees are dispatched to the area. There are more than 1,200 urban search and rescue workers in North Carolina, and as of Saturday, teams had rescued or assisted more than 3,200 survivors. 74% of the power outages originally reported have been restored.
โ Rebecca Morin
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper thanks FEMA for Helen recovery response
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper thanked FEMA for its “unprecedented and massive response” in the aftermath of Hurricane Helen.
“FEMA has been working with us from the beginning on this issue,” Cooper told reporters Saturday ahead of his meeting with Harris.
In his speech, Cooper said the state officially says 68 people died in the storm. However, local officials said they believe more than 100 people have died from the storm across North Carolina.
As of Saturday, an analysis of Helen’s death toll by the USA TODAY Network had increased to 228 people across states affected by the storm.
โ Rebecca Morin
FEMA’s response to Hurricane Helen
FEMA has sent more than 1,500 personnel to affected areas in the Southeast, officials said. The agency has shipped more than 11.5 million meals, 12.6 million liters of water, 150 generators and more than 400,000 tarps to areas affected by Helen. FEMA has so far approved more than $45 million in advance emergency assistance to victims.
โ Carissa Wadick
Biden asks Congress to pass disaster relief
President Joe Biden has called on members of Congress to replenish critical disaster relief programs that are running low on funding or could soon run out of funding.
Biden warned in a letter to Congressional leaders Friday night that the Small Business Administration’s disaster loan program is likely to run out of funds within weeks. He also said the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief funds could run out by the end of the year. Biden called on Congress to restore funding and provide additional resources to FEMA.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson suggested Congress could wait until after the election to pass hurricane relief.
โ Carissa Wadick
Helen ranks among the deadliest storms in U.S. history
The number of lives lost in Helen’s horrific floods is growing by the day as search and rescue teams continue to scour river beds and piles of debris in North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee. At least 214 people died as a result of the storm. Hundreds of people are still missing, and authorities expect the number to rise.
However, Helen is already the fourth deadliest hurricane to make landfall in the continental United States since 1950, behind Hurricanes Katrina (2005), Audrey (1957), and Camille (1969). The scale is large.
โ Dinah Boyles Pulver
Where is Trump today?
Donald Trump is holding a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday. The former president will return to the venue where he first survived an assassination attempt in July.
Trump held a campaign rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on Friday night.
โ Carissa Wadick
Disaster politics in the 2024 presidential election
Disaster politics is a staple of presidential elections, and this year is no exception. With just a month left until the election, Donald Trump is making Biden and Harris’ Hurricane Helen the focus of his campaign.
“No one has ever dealt with a hurricane or storm worse than what we’re experiencing right now,” President Trump told supporters in Saginaw, Michigan, on Thursday night.
Trump’s indictment contained lies, claiming federal disaster relief funds were donated to immigrants, and Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp struggled to reach Biden, but neither He claimed that was not true. During his term as president, he carried out disaster relief efforts.
โ David Jackson
Harris vows ‘long-term’ government relief effort
Kamala Harris visited Augusta, Georgia, earlier this week, pledging “long-term” federal support to “recover” residents and neighborhoods hit by Helen River flooding.
โWeโre here for the long haul,โ Harris said.
The Biden administration has so far announced that Georgia, Florida and North Carolina are asking the federal government to cover all state and local costs of debris removal, search and rescue operations, mass feeding and other hurricane-related emergency response efforts. Approving the request.
โ Joey Garrison
(This article has been updated with a new headline, information and photo.)