President Joe Biden called elected officials of states affected by hurricanes Helene and Milton to discuss their ongoing building and recovery process a month after Helene made landfall.
These phone calls follow White House homeland security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall’s Oct. 26 visit to North Carolina to coordinate the ongoing recovery with Gov. Roy Cooper, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and philanthropic partners. Although the calls were closed to members of the press, the White House released a statement outlining the federal government’s progress.
The White House announced on Oct. 28 that nearly 5,000 federal personnel remain in North Carolina and Florida, working with state and local officials. It also confirmed that up until that day, the Biden administration had approved more than $2.1 billion in federal assistance for those affected by both hurricanes, which includes more than $1 billion for individual and family assistance for home repairs, property replacement, and other recovery efforts.
The other $1.1 billion was dedicated to supporting debris removal and emergency response measures including first responders and providing food, water, and shelter to those affected.
More than $51 million has been offered by the U.S. Small Business Administration in “tentatively approved disaster loan funding to survivors of Hurricanes Helene and Milton.”
FEMA has provided more than 11 million meals and 9.6 million liters of water, according to the White House, with 65 disaster recovery centers open throughout the affected area, 21 of which are in North Carolina.
North Carolina National Guardsmen worked with guardsmen and active duty servicemembers from 15 different states to conduct more than 1,200 ground missions and more than 400 air missions, delivering more than 15,500 tons of humanitarian aid and clearing hundreds of miles of roadways.
Roughly 2,000 National Guardsmen are still mobilized for Hurricane Helene response across seven states, equipped with 65 high-water vehicles and seven helicopters.
Biden held a virtual meeting with active-duty service members and National Guardsmen on Oct. 28, thanking them for their work in North Carolina immediately after Helene.
The Army Corps of Engineers also has more than 450 personnel across six states, according to the White House, supporting debris removal and providing temporary power, infrastructure assessments, and safe waterways assessments.
“As President Biden and Vice President Harris have said, their Administration will be with the people across the Southeast and Appalachia no matter how long it takes,” the White House stated.
Helene made landfall in the Florida Panhandle as a Category 4 storm and caused devastation in several states. It washed more than 10 feet of storm surge in Florida’s Big Bend, cut power to millions, and caused catastrophic flooding and landslides that effectively cut off Asheville, North Carolina, and the entire western corner of North Carolina for weeks. Large sections of I-40 and I-25 are still closed at the Tennessee border.
Recovery efforts had been underway for less than two weeks when Hurricane Milton developed and hit the Florida Peninsula.
After Milton, the federal government approved a 90-day period of 100 percent reimbursement for Florida’s debris removal.
At the state level, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Kevin Guthrie, executive director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management, have waived all statutes regarding debris removal.
“I can direct, permit debris management sites, hours on trucking, driver hours, waived lengths and measures, weights and measures,” Guthrie said on Oct. 12. “It’s a full-court press; 24/7, the next 90 days, let’s go get it and get after it.”
That cleanup continues across the Florida Gulf Coast, particularly in the Tampa Bay area, where many homes and businesses were flooded during Helene, and clean-up crews did not have time to gather them before Milton.
Meanwhile, power and cell service had been restored to 99 percent of customers as of Oct. 27.
The IRS announced disaster tax relief for businesses and individuals affected by Helene. Those areas include parts of Florida, Tennessee, and Virginia and all of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Taxpayers now have until May 1, 2025, to file individual and business tax returns and payments.
