The Biden-Harris Administration took significant proactive measures to support state and local preparation and response measures in advance of Hurricane Helene making landfall. As the storm continues to track north, President Biden and Vice President Harris remain focused on life-saving and life-sustaining response efforts throughout the Southeast. The President and Vice President are closely monitoring these efforts and are receiving regular briefings, including today, from senior Administration officials, including Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criswell.
Administration officials have been in contact with state and local officials before and during the storm and will continue to coordinate together during recovery efforts. At the President's direction, FEMA Administrator Criswell is traveling to Florida this afternoon to assess the damage alongside other state and local officials. Administrator Criswell will also travel to Georgia and North Carolina in the coming days.
President Biden and Vice President Harris are praying for those who lost loved ones and for everyone impacted by this storm. Although the storm has weakened, the situation remains extremely dangerous, and the Administration continues to urge residents to heed the warnings of local officials and evacuate immediately if told to do so, as flooding and other hazards may still affect the region.
Consistent with the President's direction for a robust and well-coordinated Federal response, the Administration has taken swift action to support Hurricane Helene preparedness, response, and recovery efforts. Specific actions taken include:
Approved Emergency Declarations Before Landfall
- Before Helene made landfall, the Governors of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina submitted emergency declaration requests that President Biden swiftly approved. These declarations authorized FEMA to provide assistance for emergency measures to save lives, protect property, public health and safety, and fund other emergency response measures. The Federal government proactively pre-positioned personnel and resources across the region before Hurricane Helene made landfall, including power restoration teams for temporary emergency power, search and rescue equipment, meals, water, generators, and equipment to assist communities and states with impacts from the storm.
- The Administration, through the Department of Health and Human Services, declared a Public Health Emergency for the states of Florida and Georgia. This gives the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) health care providers and suppliers greater flexibility in meeting emergency health needs of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.
Supporting Ongoing Emergency Response Efforts
- At the President's direction, before Helene made landfall, 1,500 Federal personnel were deployed to the region.
- Urban Search and Rescue has deployed a total of 14 teams (940 personnel) to affected states. In Florida, eight teams are positioned to respond, and all are equipped with Swift Water Rescue Capabilities. In Georgia, two teams with water capability have been deployed to support rescue operations. In North Carolina, four teams all equipped with Swift Water Rescue Capabilities are in place.
- The U.S. Coast Guard crews will continue to respond with vessels and aircraft to assist search and rescue activities. Approximately 8,000 personnel are working on the Coast Guard response. They will continue to respond to urgent distress calls to save lives and assist those impacted by the storm.
- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has two teams prepositioned to provide temporary emergency power, with additional personnel deployed and other are prepared to deploy if needed. In addition to temporary emergency power, personnel will assist the states with infrastructure assessments, debris management and temporary roofing assistance as needed. They have activated six emergency operation centers in the region to coordinate operations.
- The Department of Health and Human Services deployed two Health and Medical Task Forces to assist hospitals and other critical care facilities with any impacts as a result of the storm.
- FEMA's Surge Capacity Force is activated, which enables the deployment of additional disaster staff within the Department of Homeland Security and across the Federal interagency to assist in the areas impacted by the hurricane.
- The Federal government pre-staged more than 2.7 million meals, 1.6 million liters of water, 50,000 tarps, 10,000 cots, and 20,000 blankets in the region to support sheltering needs in impacted communities.
- FEMA pre-positioned tanker trucks with 70,000 gallons of diesel fuel and 40,000 gallons of gasoline to surge to impacted communities once the storm has passed to help alleviate any fuel shortages.
- Prior to the storm, FEMA also helped source hundreds of ambulances to assist with the movement of any patients out of impacted hospitals or other facilities.
Supporting Communities and Infrastructure Following the Storm's Impact
- The Department of Energy's Energy Response Organization is activated and closely monitoring impacts and restoration efforts related to Helene, including power, fuel, and supply chain interruptions. Via the Electricity Sub-Sector Coordinating Council, the Department also works continuously with electric utilities across the country to strengthen post-storm power restoration efforts.
- The Environmental Protection Agency is working closely with Federal, state, local, and Tribal partners to help protect water systems, prepare for debris management, and ensure facilities, including Superfund sites, maintain critical public health and environmental protections. EPA stands ready to mobilize additional staff after the storm passes and as clean up and recovery efforts begin.
- The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has made information available from the HHS emPOWER program, a partnership between the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, to support public health emergency planning and response activities. The program provides valuable information on the number of Medicare beneficiaries who rely on electricity-dependent durable medical equipment and certain health care services, such as dialysis, oxygen tanks, or home health care, to help anticipate, plan for, and respond to the needs of at-risk residents in areas impacted by the storm.
- The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) notified Public Housing Authorities, multifamily, and healthcare facility owners to implement all appropriate protocols to prepare for the storm and ensure the safety of their residents. HUD is and will continue to work with the Public Housing Authorities, multifamily, and healthcare owners and homelessness assistance partners to determine damage impact and resident displacement. HUD will also be developing vacancy lists of HUD-assisted projects that can be used to provide temporary and/or permanent housing to disaster survivors.
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service approved Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' request to provide operational flexibilities in all of the state's school lunch programs - which will enhance flexibilities for meal service during unanticipated school closures.
- The Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration aerial teams are being deployed to provide valuable observations of impacted communities to understand the scope of the storm damage and to support disaster response by Federal partners. To ensure navigational safety, NOAA experts work around-the-clock after a storm acquiring and processing data to speed the reopening of ports and waterways by verifying water depth and identifying dangers to navigation.
- Additional personnel from the Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Department of the Interior, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy, and Department of Health and Human Services are deployed to assist with response and recovery efforts.
