President Biden said Wednesday the federal government will cover 100% of the cost of debris removal and emergency measures for six months as North Carolina recovers from Hurricane Helene, granting a request from Gov. Roy Cooper after a helicopter survey of the damage.
The decision sparked applause in the room at an operational briefing on the storm recovery in Raleigh.
“Much of Asheville was under water,” Mr. Biden said, describing the damage in western North Carolina he saw from the air. “This will pay for the urgent work you need to clear landslides, to provide shelters and supply food and medicine.”
Earlier Wednesday, Mr. Biden’s aerial tour of western North Carolina revealed flattened buildings and the shells of gutted-out buildings in and around Asheville, which is in the Blue Ridge Mountains far west of the capital.
“I’m here to say the United States, the nation, has your back,” Mr. Biden said. “We’re not leaving until you’re back on your feet completely.”
“At a moment like this, we put politics aside, at least we should put it aside. We have here. There are no Democrats or Republicans, only Americans,” Mr. Biden added.
Still, the storm recovery is a key test for the president and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, both for humanitarian and political reasons, given the nearing election.
The president announced Wednesday he is deploying 1,000 active-duty soldiers to North Carolina to help the state’s National Guard in the response to Helene.
Mr. Biden said the troops will speed the delivery of food, water and medicine to isolated parts of the state, which faces the highest death toll from Helene.
The storm killed at least 175 people along its 500-mile path, including at least 77 in North Carolina, according to the latest count.
“As you saw firsthand, North Carolina has been hit hard,” Mr. Cooper, a Democrat, said. “This disaster in western North Carolina is catastrophic and unprecedented.”
Mr. Cooper said nearly whole towns were wiped off the map and critical electrical and water infrastructure was damaged.
He said the good news is that rescue teams saved “countless” lives.
“I know that we can come back, and we will come back,” Mr. Cooper said. “Working together, we can get through this.”
Mr. Biden on Thursday will visit Florida and Georgia communities impacted by Helene.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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