Biden and Harris lead relief efforts as hurricane Helene death toll rises to 162

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday witnessed Hurricane Helene's catastrophic destruction firsthand and Vice President Kamala Harris distributed aid to needy families, as thousands of federal responders joined all-out efforts to rescue residents and care for millions in the disaster.

Biden flew into the Carolinas and his deputy headed to Georgia after Harris's election rival Donald Trump sought to turn their handling of the disaster -- which has left at least 162 people dead in six states -- into campaign fodder.

Biden arrived in South Carolina and was briefed on the sprawling rescue and recovery effort -- an operation featuring more than 10,000 federal officials, emergency responders and National Guard across the US southeast.

Also read | At least 155 dead from Hurricane Helene; Biden and Harris to visit hard-hit states

He then flew by helicopter over the flood-hit city of Asheville, North Carolina, where staggering destruction was visible from the air, including collapsed bridges, lakes filled with debris, buildings demolished and roads washed away.

"What I saw was heartbreaking," Biden said on X.

"But back on the ground, we're witnessing neighbours helping neighbours, volunteers and workers standing side-by-side, people leaning on each other. That's America."

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, travelling with the president, described Helene as a storm of "historic strength" that brought calamitous flooding to cities and remote mountain communities.

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

Towns and villages cut off 

Biden, who has approved major disaster declarations in several states, announced the deployment of up to 1,000 active-duty soldiers to North Carolina to help "speed up the delivery of life-saving supplies" including food, water, and medicine to isolated communities.

While getting briefed in the state, he spoke of Washington's obligation to provide help.

"In a moment like this we put politics aside," he said. "The nation has your back."

Also read | 130 dead from Hurricane Helene, Biden announced his visit to storm-hit North Carolina amid Trump controversy

But he also warned how climate change is increasing the severity and frequency of extreme weather events.

"Nobody can deny the impact of the climate crisis anymore, at least I hope they don't," Biden said. "They must be brain-dead if they do." 

Harris, who replaced Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee for the November 5 election, flew separately to the southern state of Georgia, which has also been badly hit.

She visited an emergency operations center in Augusta before surveying a neighborhood that suffered what she called "extraordinary" devastation.

Debris was scattered across the road and trees lay crashed onto homes near where the vice president comforted grieving residents.

Harris assured Georgians the federal government was coordinating with local authorities to "get folks the support and the relief that they so desperately need and so rightly deserve."

"We are here for the long haul," she said.

Harris also helped hand out styrofoam containers of food to impacted families at a shelter and received loud cheers when she departed.

North Carolina and Georgia are two of the seven crucial swing states likely to decide the result of the US election. Early voting has already begun in several states.

The White House announced Biden will travel Thursday to Florida, where Helene roared ashore last week as a Category 4 hurricane, and Georgia.

The storm's torrential rains have caused huge damage in the Appalachian mountains, with towns and villages cut off.

In east Tennessee, massive searches were underway near the Nolichucky River, where water flow spiked to record levels, leading to ferocious flooding.

"There are people still missing," Governor Bill Lee told a briefing. "We're in the middle of what is a remarkably difficult and tragic unfolding in east Tennessee."

'He's lying'

The Biden and Harris visits come a day after vice presidential candidates J.D. Vance and Tim Walz faced off in a TV debate, where they acknowledged common ground about the need for a robust storm response.

But Republican former president Trump earlier sought to make political capital out of the disaster, accusing Biden's administration, without evidence, of ignoring the crisis and denying help to Trump supporters.

Biden told reporters Monday that Trump was "lying" and termed his attacks "irresponsible."

The political storm over Helene comes as Biden and Harris endure a series of crises with barely a month until the knife-edge election.

As they coordinate the hurricane response, Biden and Harris are also contending with escalating tensions between Iran and Israel and a dockworkers' strike that threatens the country's economy.

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