President Joe Biden spent the weekend relaxing at the beach while Appalachian valleys in North Carolina and Tennessee experienced deadly flooding from Hurricane Helene. As of Sunday morning, dozens had lost their lives across the southeastern United States, and the death toll is expected to increase due to the torrential rain brought by the Category 4 storm, which struck the Big Bend of Florida on Thursday, noted The Federalist.
Biden’s public schedule had him departing for Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on Friday, the day after the hurricane made landfall. He was initially expected to stay through late Sunday evening, but the president reportedly returned to Washington earlier on Sunday as tensions escalated in the Middle East.
Floodwaters nearly completely isolated Asheville, North Carolina, from the outside world, damaging roads and disrupting power and cell service. State officials are urgently working to airlift supplies into the region. Ryan Cole, the assistant director for emergency services in Buncombe County, described the flooding as “Biblical” and noted the devastation it has caused in the area, the outlet noted further.
“You’ve heard us say, ‘catastrophic devastation within our county.’ I would go a little bit further and say we have Biblical devastation through the county,” Cole told reporters Saturday. “We’ve had Biblical flooding here, and it has been extremely significant.” Added Buncombe County Manager Avril Pinder, per The New York Times: “We are in the midst of the most significant natural disaster in our community.”
? Asheville and Western North Carolina are UNDERWATER.
Biden’s at the beach and Kamala’s at fundraisers with West Coast Elites
RADIO SILENCE from the White House
This is INFURIATING.
pic.twitter.com/tbbXuJxXfP— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) September 29, 2024
At least 10 deaths have been reported in North Carolina, according to local press, while NBC reported 17 fatalities in Georgia, including children. The New York Times noted on Saturday that officials in eastern Tennessee are preparing residents for potential “life lost” after approximately half a dozen individuals went missing as floodwaters swept through picturesque mountain communities, collapsing bridges and destroying homes. The torrential rains nearly caused a dam on the Nolichucky River in Greenville, Tennessee, to break, as water levels soared more than 8 feet above the record elevation.
Powerful floods from Helene collapsed the Kisner Bridge in Afton, Tennessee, into the roaring Nolichucky River. pic.twitter.com/MkE20hm559
— AccuWeather (@accuweather) September 28, 2024
Tennessee farmland and the devastation hard working farmers must face.
Pray for the farmers. They work so hard as it is and many can’t afford flood insurance and virtually none have hurricane insurance. #Helene took their livelihood. pic.twitter.com/Dfd8tj0486
— Jennifer Coffindaffer (@CoffindafferFBI) September 28, 2024
Erwin, TN, has been devastated by the flooding from Helene. Interstate 26 washed away near exit 40. My heart hurts tonight. I’ve made some of my favorite hiking memories in the hills of East Tennessee.
Photo from VA State Police. pic.twitter.com/fFJXSWeqj3
— Hike East Tennessee (@EastTNHiking) September 28, 2024
“President Joe Biden said Saturday that Helene’s devastation has been ‘overwhelming’ and pledged to send help,” the Associated Press reported. But the president announced no plans to visit the South despite Hurricane Helene becoming the “deadliest tropical cyclone” for South Carolina, with 25 dead, “since Hurricane Hugo killed 35 people” in 1989.
“President Biden and I continue to work with local leaders in the southeast to provide support as they face the impacts of Hurricane Helene and begin to recover,” Vice President Kamala Harris said in a post on X. “More than 1,500 federal personnel have been deployed, including power restoration and search and rescue teams,” she added, but has made no plans to visit the flooding region where millions are still without power.
Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump is planning to visit the region this week.
