Biden, Harris tour Helene damage in storm-ravaged South at critical 2024 campaign moment

With the 2024 campaign heading into its final stretch, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday surveyed communities battered by flooding from Hurricane Helene during separate trips spanning three southeastern states as both vowed the federal government won't leave until the recovery is complete.

Biden stopped in Greenville, South Carolina, and took an aerial tour of the devastation in nearby Asheville, North Carolina, before receiving an emergency operational briefing in the state capital of Raleigh. Harris traveled separately to Augusta, Georgia, where she provided an update on federal support for emergency response and recovery efforts.

"I'm here to thank you and to listen," Harris, the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, said at the head of a long table at the Augusta Emergency Operations Center, with local officials and emergency personnel seated on both sides.

More: Hurricane Helene collides with 2024 election as Trump goes to Georgia, Harris plans visit

The nation's top two executives did not cross paths as Biden visited the battleground state of North Carolina and Harris traveled to another swing state, Georgia, just 34 days before Election Day.

The death toll across the Southeast was at least 162 Wednesday and was expected to rise. Buncombe County, home to Asheville, has reported 57 deaths. The aftermath of Hurricane Helene has collided with the politics of the 2024 election – with the speed, quality and disputes over federal aid posing potential election ramifications in both Georgia and North Carolina.

Republican nominee Donald Trump, who visited Valdosta, Georgia, on Monday, has tried to make the Biden administration's hurricane response a campaign issue. He slammed Biden for being at his beach home and Harris for attending a fundraiser last weekend during the flooding and claimed that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, was unable to reach Biden to discuss emergency aid.

Administration officials said Harris and Biden were regularly updated on the unfolding disaster and oversaw emergency efforts while they were away from Washington. They also noted Biden and Kemp had spoken the day before Trump incorrectly said they hadn't connected.

More: Heartbreak across 6 states: Here are some who lost lives in Hurricane Helene

During her visit on Wednesday, Harris hugged and consoled residents in an Augusta neighborhood where toppled trees were visible in front yards and wooden debris covered parts of roads.

"It is particularly devastating in terms of the loss of life that this community has experienced, the loss of normalcy and the loss of critical resources," Harris said. "And so I'm here today to thank all of those who are working to get folks the support and the relief that they so desperately need."

Harris vowed "long-lasting" coordination from the federal government to get families, residents and neighborhoods "back up and running."

"We're here for the long haul," Harris said.

Biden takes aerial tour of hard-hit Asheville

Biden took his aerial tour of Asheville on Marine One, dipping low to view the widespread storm damage. Near the city's historic downtown, Biden and his team could see flattened buildings, gutted structures and knocked down trees. The tour also crossed over Biltmore village, the River Arts district and east Asheville as well as Swannanoa and Black Mountain.

"I'm here to say the United States – the nation – has your back. We're not leaving until you're back on your feet completely," Biden said at an emergency command center in Raleigh, where he was joined by North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat.

Biden said he approved Cooper's request for the federal government to cover 100% of the costs of debris removal and other emergency protective measures over six months. A similar request from Georgia was approved for the full federal reimbursement to cover costs of emergency food, water and shelter.

The president also announced the deployment of up to 1,000 active-duty soldiers to reinforce the North Carolina National Guard's efforts to deliver food, water and medicine to isolated communities in the state.

"In a moment like this, we put politics aside – at least we should put it all aside," Biden said. "We have here. There are no Democrats, Republicans, there are only Americans. And our job is to help as many people as we can, as quickly as we can and as thoroughly as we can."

More: Biden sends 1,000 Army troops to North Carolina for Helene response

Biden heads Thursday to Georgia and Florida

Asked why Biden and Harris did not travel together, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, "It was a way to make sure that we cover all fronts."

Since securing the Democratic nomination, Harris has held just one joint campaign appearance with Biden, who has battled low approval ratings for much of his presidency. The two have not appeared together in any of the four closely contested Sun Belt swing states: North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.

Harris plans to travel to North Carolina to tour flood-damaged communities in the coming days, while Biden is scheduled to go to Georgia and Florida on Thursday without the vice president.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who joined the president's trip on Wednesday, said more than 4,800 federal workers have been deployed for the government's response, including more than 1,000 FEMA workers. The agency has shipped more than 8.8 million meals, 7.4 million liters of water, 150 generators and more than 225,000 tarps to the Southeast.

Search and rescue teams have conducted nearly 1,500 structural evaluations and completed hundreds of rescues and evacuations, Mayorkas said.

A 'multi-billion-dollar' recovery effort

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell remains on the ground in western North Carolina, which was hit particularly hard by flooding, including Asheville. Biden administration officials are bracing for a costly long-term recovery that will take years.

"This is a multi-billion-dollar, multi-year recovery," Mayorkas said. "We have towns that have disappeared, literally."

Biden said earlier this week that he expects to ask Congress to approve a supplemental spending bill to help cover federal costs for Hurricane Helene relief efforts. A dozen bipartisan senators who represent the states hit hardest by the storm pleaded on Tuesday for their colleagues to also pass legislation with additional resources. They also joined the president in suggesting an emergency session may need to be called before Election Day.

In North Carolina, FEMA has received more than 30,000 applications from individuals seeking disaster relief and so far distributed more than $2.6 million to survivors. Sixty-two percent of power outages reported after the flooding have been restored, with 8,000 crews continuing to assist with additional power restoration, the White House said.

The federal government has also installed 50 Starlink receivers in western North Carolina to help provide internet connectivity.

Reach Joey Garrison on X, formerly Twitter, @joeygarrison.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden, Harris tour Helene damage in storm-ravaged South