The death toll from a devastating storm that battered the southeastern United States climbed to 118 on Monday, as the disaster became a hot topic in an already bitter election campaign, with the White House angrily refuting claims it had been slow to respond.
With hundreds still missing across several southeastern US states and the death toll climbing, President Joe Biden announced he would travel to storm-ravaged North Carolina Wednesday to monitor rescue efforts. Biden also accused former president Donald Trump of spreading lies, after the Republican presidential candidate charged, without evidence, that the federal government was ignoring the disaster brought on by Hurricane Helene and denying help to his supporters. “He’s lying,” Biden told reporters in the Oval Office, adding that he had spoken to North Carolina governor Ray Cooper “and he told him he’s lying. I don’t know why he does it… that’s simply not true, and it’s irresponsible.”
At least 118 people were killed by the storm and associated flooding — 49 in North Carolina, 25 in South Carolina, 25 in Georgia, 14 in Florida, four in Tennessee and one in Virginia, according to tallies from local authorities compiled by AFP.
Emergency workers continued a grim search for hundreds of people still unaccounted for across the affected states, where torrential rains brought widespread havoc.
They also worked to restore water and power supply to the affected areas, remove fallen trees, deliver supplies and register people for disaster assistance.
The death toll was expected to rise, authorities warned, with cell phone service knocked out across much of the region and up to 600 people still missing.
With Biden preparing to head to North Carolina, Trump on Monday arrived in Georgia, another epicenter of the destruction — and both are among the key swing states where the US election will be decided in just five weeks’ time.