Biden directs up to 1,000 soldiers to assist in aid efforts; 187 dead in storm aftermath

Biden joined a briefing on Hurricane Helene relief efforts in Raleigh after he spent the day touring Greenville, South Carolina, and surveying damage across North Carolina.

Biden called the disaster a “storm of historic proportions” and noted that damage is still being assessed as people remain unaccounted for.

He thanked the governors of the Carolinas and the elected officials who have “focused on the task at hand.”

“The nation has your back,” Biden said. “There are no Democrats or Republicans, only Americans,” when it comes to relief for those affected by the storm.

Biden said the federal government has been trying to help as “quickly and as thoroughly” as it can and discussed approving requests from governors to provide aid and resources.

Today, Biden said he directed the Defense Department to move 1,000 soldiers to reinforce the North Carolina National Guard. He said that should speed up the delivery of lifesaving supplies like food, water and medicine.

Biden also said that FEMA is sending helicopters and trucks to get meals and letters of water to these communities every day and that it has been knocking on doors and visiting shelters to register residents to get the funds and assistance they need.

It’s going to cost billions of dollars to deal with the aftermath of the storm, Biden said.

“We’ve got the capabilities to get the job done, and we’re going to get it done as fast as possible,” he said.

He also spoke about the role of climate change in the storm and said scientists have reported that “storms like Helene are going to get stronger and stronger.”

Biden said he saw the “impact of that fury” today in North Carolina, specifically in the “beautiful town of Asheville,” which was underwater a few days ago and has been “reduced to rock and rubble,” he said.

He called out “volunteers and first responders” who are standing “side by side” to help those communities.

“Whenever we’ve worked together we’ve never failed to get something done,” Biden said.