Death Toll From Helene Climbs as Biden Administration Scrambles To Respond to ‘Catastrophic’ Disaster in Appalachia

The Biden-Harris administration is scrambling to respond to what is being described as “catastrophic” destruction caused by Hurricane Helene across Appalachia and the southern states, with more than 100 dead so far and thousands still unaccounted for in a region largely cut off from the rest of America.The mountain city of Asheville and surrounding Buncombe County in North Carolina reported the most casualties, with at least 30 killed from the storm, according to The Associated Press. Along with several other fatalities across the state, the death toll reached at least 107 people across multiple states, including Georgia and Florida.Officials said they fear the toll will climb in the coming days as search-and-rescue teams reach isolated areas currently inaccessible. “This storm has brought catastrophic devastation… of historic proportions,” governor of North Carolina, Roy Cooper, said during a press conference on Sunday.The Category 4 Helene rocked the mountainous region, with about 1,000 people at Buncombe County still unaccounted for and many residents at the Asheville metropolitan area and the surrounding towns trapped without electricity, life-sustaining provisions, cell phone service, and water.“We need food, and we need water,” Buncombe county manager, Avril Pinder, said on a Sunday call with reporters. “My staff has been making every request possible to the state for support, and we’ve been working with every single organization that has reached out. What I promise you is that we are very close.”North Carolina officials have been attempting to deliver water and other supplies to the Asheville region, but mudslides and floods have blocked major roadways, including Interstates 40 and 26, as well as smaller highways across the area.Opponents of the Biden-Harris Administration, primarily President Trump and his proxies at the Republican National Committee, have criticized the White House for its slow response to the storm-damaged region.In a campaign rally at Erie, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, the Republican presidential candidate, according to Politico, accused President Biden of “sleeping” at his Delaware beach house instead of heading to the South to assess Helene’s damage. He also criticized Vice President Harris for holding a fundraiser in her home state of California “when big parts of our country have been devastated by that massive hurricane.”Trump announced at the rally that he would head to Georgia, a battleground state in the upcoming election, to assess the damage in that state himself.Mr. Biden called the impact of the storm “stunning” and that he intends to visit the storm-ravaged region this week but did not provide an exact date as he does not want to disrupt rescue and relief operations. Ms. Harris also said she intends to head to the area “as soon as possible without disrupting emergency response operations.”Lawmakers in North Carolina have said that what they don’t need now are diplomatic visits.“The people in my district really don’t want to see politicians,” Republican Congressman Chuck Edwards said to Politico. “They want to see water. Food. Cell towers and power restored, and the ability to contact their loved ones. Photo ops are not what’s needed.”Mr. Cooper, a Democrat, echoed those sentiments.“I told the president that we did not need elected officials that require a lot of security and attention, because we need to make sure that we’re getting the work done on the ground. It’s not the right time for them to come,” he said to the news outlet.

Death Toll From Helene Climbs as Biden Administration Scrambles To Respond to ‘Catastrophic’ Disaster in Appalachia

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