The Biden-Harris Administration continues to lead a robust Federal response to help impacted communities in the wake of Hurricane Helene. The Administration is working around the clock and mobilizing every resource available to support life-saving response efforts in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida.
The President and Vice President continue to receive regular briefings from their teams, including today, and Administration officials remain in constant communication with state and local officials to ensure they have the support and resources they need. President Biden has spoken with North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, and Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer, along with other state and local officials in the impacted areas to offer further assistance as needed. This afternoon, the President was briefed by Governor Cooper and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell from the field following surveys of Helene's impacts across the State. Vice President Harris also received an in-person briefing at FEMA today and has been in touch with Governor Cooper, Governor Kemp, Greenville Mayor Knox White, and Savannah Mayor Van Johnson.
President Biden directed Administrator Criswell to determine what more can be done to accelerate delivering support to those who are having the most difficult time accessing assistance in isolated communities. At the President's direction, Administrator Criswell has been on the ground to survey damage and determine any unmet needs, and at the President's direction she will remain on the ground in Asheville, North Carolina, until the situation has stabilized.
On Wednesday, President Biden will travel to North Carolina. He will also travel to Georgia and Florida as soon as possible.
Additionally, the Federal government is closely monitoring an additional weather disturbance in the Caribbean Sea that has the potential to form into another storm in the coming week. Residents throughout the Gulf Coast should remain alert, listen to local officials, and make additional preparations as needed.
Additional Administration actions to support ongoing response and recovery efforts include:
Supporting On-The-Ground Response Efforts
As of today, more than 3,500 personnel from across the federal workforce are deployed and supporting Hurricane Helene response efforts across the impacted states. This includes the most experienced incident management teams to help identity Federal resources to address unmet needs, as well as Urban Search and Rescue personnel using high water rescue equipment for rescue missions across the region.
Search and rescue efforts by state, local and Federal partners are ongoing, and hundreds of additional personnel are arriving in the region in the coming days. Over 1,250 Urban Search and Rescue personnel are deployed across Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Together with local and state responders, teams have rescued or supported more than 1,900 people, including nearly 900 in North Carolina.
The Department of Defense has 30 high-water trucks ready to assist rescuers and 18 helicopters with lift capabilities that can transport supplies, equipment and assist with search and rescue operations.
Approving Major Disaster Declarations
President Biden approved a Major Disaster declaration for South Carolina yesterday, allowing survivors to immediately access funds and resources to jumpstart their recovery. This is in addition to approving declarations for Florida and North Carolina earlier in the weekend.
FEMA assistance in Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina may include a one-time $750 payment to help with essential items like food, water, baby formula and other emergency supplies. After registering for disaster assistance, individuals may also qualify to receive disaster-related financial assistance to repair storm-related damage to homes and replace personal property, as well as assistance to find a temporary place to stay.
Homeowners and renters with damage to their home or personal property from previous disasters, whether they received FEMA funds or not, are still eligible to apply for and receive assistance for Hurricane Helene.
People in 17 counties in Florida, 25 counties in North Carolina and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, as well as 13 counties in South Carolina can now apply for assistance with FEMA. People can apply in four ways: online by visiting disasterassistance.gov, calling 1-800-621-3362, on the FEMA App, or via disaster recovery centers.
Emergency declarations were also approved for Florida, North Carolina Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, and Alabama. Under an emergency declaration, FEMA provides direct Federal support to states for life saving activities and other emergency protective measures, such as evacuation, sheltering, and search and rescue.
Restoring Power to Impacted Communities
At least 50,000 personnel from 34 states and the District of Columbia and Canada are responding to power outages and working around the clock throughout parts of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina to restore power to those communities that can receive power. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is moving generators and additional power restoration assets into the hardest hit areas of South and North Carolina as flood waters recede and debris removal allows. As power is being restored throughout parts of Florida and Georgia, power crews are being moved into other states to assist with their restoration efforts. Mobile Emergency Operations Vehicles are in place to support responder communication and assist impacted communities. We are working with private sector partners to augment and restore cellular services in several states.
In North Carolina, 40 Starlink satellite systems are available to help with responder communications, and an additional 140 satellites are being shipped to assist with communications infrastructure restoration. One Starlink will be deployed per county Emergency Operations Center to assist with communications.
Power outage numbers are improving as restoration teams gain access to communities and debris is removed. As of this morning, approximately 2.1 million customers are without power, down more than 54% from the region-wide peak of 4.6 million on September 27.
Additional Interagency Support Efforts
Together with state and local partners, the Federal government is actively supporting Hurricane Helene response efforts and is coordinating requests for Federal assistance.
- FEMA distribution centers are fully stocked and ready to provide commodities and equipment to any impacted state, as required.
- FEMA is sending additional generators, 150 ambulances, trailers full of meals and water and 215 additional Search and Rescue personnel to North Carolina.
- Thus far, FEMA has shipped over 1.9 million meals, more than 1 million liters of water, 30 generators and over 95,000 tarps to impacted states.
- FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance teams are deploying to Florida and North Carolina to help survivors register for disaster assistance, answer questions and help people jumpstart their recovery.
- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared a Public Health Emergency for Florida, Georgia and North Carolina, giving health care providers and suppliers greater flexibility in meeting emergency health needs of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. Medical responders are in affected states along with medical equipment and supplies, to help protect the delivery of health care services following the landfall of Hurricane Helene.
- The U.S. Coast Guard crews have saved 19 lives and five pets in the response so far, with rescues continuing in North Carolina. They have thousands of personnel working on response efforts and are providing surface and air rescue assets to support search and rescue missions. Personnel continue addressing transportation concerns by ensuring ports and waterways are reopened safely.
- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers deployed teams for temporary emergency power, debris removal and infrastructure assessment of water/wastewater treatment facilities and road/bridges.
- The Environmental Protection Agency has personnel on the ground who are working closely with federal, state, local, and Tribal partners to prepare for and safely remove hazardous materials and debris, and maintain critical public health and environmental protections in place as storm impacts are assessed.
- The Department of the Interior's U.S. Geological Survey activated its Landslide Team to help with assessments in the impacted areas.
- The U.S. Small Business Administration deployed more than 50 personnel to support people and small businesses as they recover from the hurricane.
- The U.S. Department of Energy has responders deployed to the Emergency Operations Centers in Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina and is closely monitoring impacts and working to advance restoration efforts, including power, fuel and supply chain interruptions.
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has offices in virtually every county with personnel who stand ready to provide technical assistance, disaster programs, and emergency credit to farmers and agriculture producers who lost crops and livestock. USDA has deployed 132 emergency support staff to assist FEMA at their Regional Response Coordination Center in Atlanta and their National Response Coordination Center in Washington. USDA has also approved Florida's request for waivers for food assistance programs to Florida and is standing by to render additional flexibilities and assistance as requested by the states. In addition, USDA is working to locate those with housing impacts related to Hurricane Helene and connect them with housing assistance and is prepared to assist with infrastructure assistance.
