WASHINGTON – Vice President Kamala Harris stopped by a donation center in Charlotte, North Carolina, during her visit to the state to get updates on recovery efforts for the catastrophic damage wrought by Hurricane Helene and to meet with families who were impacted by the storm.
Joining a production line where she dropped deodorant and a bar of soap into a plastic, resealable bag, Harris met with volunteers who outlined the efforts to get supplies to communities in the state heavily impacted by Helene, including Asheville and Morganton.
“You are the heroes among us,” Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, told the volunteers at the donation center. “Because I do believe in moments of crisis, heroes are revealed who just step up to help people in need and to show that kind of strength that people need to feel in each other.”
One volunteer, Angelica Wind, was from Asheville, and brought her daughter and a friend to the donation center to “try to get a couple of days of normalcy.” Harris asked about Wind’s family, to which she said her family just got power back.
Wind highlighted how a lot of people in her community are still missing, and people are still grieving and hurting.
“But there’s also a lot of resilience,” Wind said. “There’s a lot of resilience. The community’s coming together.”
Before visiting the donation center, Harris greeted National Guard members while at Charlotte Air National Guard Base who were loading military aircrafts with pallets of emergency aid to be flown to communities throughout western North Carolina.
Harris also met with officials on Saturday afternoon where she received updates on recovery efforts for the area and announced that Mecklenburg County, home to Charlotte, had been added to the federal disaster declaration. Helene, a Category 4 hurricane when it made landfall along Florida’s Big Bend region on Sept. 26, has killed more than 200 people and left thousands without power or drinkable water.
“For the folks who are local, I also know what this means for each of you as a leader, to be a leader at a time that your own homes, your families, your friends, people you know, your community, has been directly hit,” Harris said during remarks ahead of a briefing at the North Carolina Air National Guard, which is on the grounds of the airport.
Harris’ visit comes exactly one month ahead of the 2024 presidential election, in which she is locked in a tight race against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. North Carolina is viewed as a pivotal swing state, and the speed and effectiveness of Biden administration’s response efforts could have ramifications on the race.
Trump has also visited disaster-struck regions in Georgia, Florida and North Carolina over the last few days.
Catch up with the USA TODAY Network’s latest updates.
Where is Tim Walz?
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, headlined a fundraising event on Saturday for the Harris campaign in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The governor spent at least an hour at the event, which was being held at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. Following his stop in Cincinnati, Walz left for Cleveland where he was set to headline another fundraising event.
– Rebecca Morin and Sharon Coolidge, USA TODAY Network
Another hurricane expected to hit Florida after Helene
As clean-up from Tropical Storm Helene continues across the Southeast, the National Hurricane Center has issued advisories for at least three storm systems. One of those could make landfall on the West Coast of Florida in the next few days.
The National Hurricane Center on Saturday said Tropical Storm Milton is expected to develop into a “near major hurricane,” with the risk of life-threatening impacts. The forecast shows the storm approaching the Gulf coast of Florida with winds of 110 mph ahead of a possible mid-week landfall near Tampa.
Forecasters are also tracking two other storm systems: Hurricane Kirk, a Category 3 storm over open ocean in the Atlantic and Hurricane Leslie, a Category 1 storm following behind Kirk. Neither were expected to make landfall as of Saturday.
– Karissa Waddick
What FEMA support in North Carolina looks like
As communities across North Carolina continue to recover from Hurricane Helene, FEMA has offered support and staff to the state. Here is a breakdown of what it looks like, according to the White House:
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$26 million in housing and other types of assistance to more than 25,000 households in North Carolina.
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More than 5,400,000 meals and 6,300,000 liters of water shipped to the state.
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700 FEMA staff members on the ground.
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More than 1,200 urban search and rescue personnel are in North Carolina and the teams have rescued or supported more than 3,200 survivors as of Saturday.
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74% of originally reported power outages have been restored.
– Rebecca Morin
NC Gov. Roy Cooper thanks FEMA for Helene recover response
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper thanked FEMA for its “massive unprecedented response” in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
“FEMA has been on the ground with us from the very beginning of this,” Cooper told reporters on Saturday before his briefing with Harris.
During his remarks, Cooper said 68 people died from the storm, which is the official state count. However, local authorities said they believe there are more than 100 who have died from the storm across North Carolina.
As of Saturday, the USA TODAY Network analysis of Helene deaths increased to 228 across the states impacted by the storm.
– Rebecca Morin
FEMA’s response to Hurricane Helene
FEMA has deployed more than 1,500 workers to impacted areas in the southeast, officials said. The agency has shipped more than 11.5 million million meals, more than 12.6 million liters of water, 150 generators and more than 400,000 tarps to regions affected by Helene. FEMA has so far approved more than $45 million in up-front emergency aid to victims.
– Karissa Waddick
Biden calls on Congress to pass disaster relief
President Joe Biden urged members of Congress to replenish critical disaster relief programs that have run out of money, or that soon could run out.
In a Friday night letter to congressional leaders, Biden warned that the Small Business Administration’s disaster loan program is set to run out of funds in a matter of weeks. He also said the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief funds could face a shortfall by the end of the year. Biden called on Congress to restore funding and provide FEMA with additional resources.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has suggested Congress can wait until after the election to pass Hurricane relief measures.
– Karissa Waddick
Helene among top deadliest storms in U.S. history
As search and rescue teams continue to examine stream beds and debris piles across North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee, the toll of lives lost in Helene’s horrific flooding mounts daily. At least 214 people have died as a result of the storm. Hundreds are still missing and officials expect the number to rise.
But already Helene is the fourth deadliest landfalling hurricane in the mainland U.S. since 1950. It ranks behind Hurricane’s Katrina (2005), Audrey (1957 and Camille (1969).
– Dinah Voyles Pulver
Where is Trump today?
Donald Trump is holding a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday. The former president returns to the venue where he first survived an assassination attempt in July.
Trump held a campaign rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina on Friday evening.
– Karissa Waddick
Disaster politics in the 2024 presidential election
Disaster politics are a staple of presidential elections, and this year is no different. With just a month to go until the election, Donald Trump has sought to make Biden and Harris’ Hurricane Helene a focus of the campaign.
“There’s nobody that’s handled a hurricane or storm worse than what they’re doing right now,” Trump said to supporters Thursday night in Saginaw, Michigan.
Trump’s indictment has included falsehoods – he claimed that federal disaster money went to migrants and that Georgia GOP Gov. Brian Kemp had trouble reaching Biden, but neither were the case – and the 2024 Republican nominee for the White House has been accused of playing politics with disaster relief during his presidency.
– David Jackson
Harris vows “long haul” government relief efforts
Kamala Harris pledged “long lasting” federal support to get residents and neighborhoods battered by flooding from Helene “back up and running” during a visit to Augusta, Georgia earlier this week.
“We’re here for the long haul,” Harris said.
The Biden administration has so far approved requests from Georgia, Florida and North Carolina for the federal government to fully cover the state and local costs of debris removal, search and rescue efforts, mass-feeding and other hurricane-related emergency response activities.
– Joey Garrison
(This story has been updated with a new headline, information and photos.)
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kamala Harris visits North Carolina for update on Helene recovery
