Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) praised North Carolina residents for helping each other in the wake of Hurricane Helene, a weather phenomenon of which he has “never seen anything like this.”
North Carolina is one of several south-eastern states that have been affected by the hurricane, which has so far killed at least 192 people. While Budd contended that President Joe Biden’s lack of response to the hurricane shows “how out of touch” the president is with the people, he added that it is currently “not a time for political grandstanding.”
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Budd said on Fox News’s Hannity. “So this is a 500-, a thousand-year incident, we pray it never happens again, but these are resilient people in western North Carolina. And, yes, there are other states, too, and we are praying for them as well. I’m talking to my colleagues in those other states. This is the worst disaster I have ever seen.”
Budd also expressed great thanks to all the charities coming to aid North Carolina “in the name of Jesus” and encouraged those who wish to help to do so through these groups. He added that “it’s the private citizens” who are helping those in need, citing how he has seen people fly their personal airplanes and helicopters in the rescue efforts.
As part of these efforts, Budd detailed how these pilots are flying Starlink internet providers that billionaire Elon Musk has “generously donated” to isolated fire departments, thus providing internet access to neighborhoods cut off by the hurricane.
On X, Budd shared the news that Biden had sent 1,000 active-duty soldiers to assist in North Carolina’s recovery efforts, calling it “absolutely needed.”
The deployment of 1,000 active-duty troops to Western North Carolina is absolutely needed—particularly additional helicopters.
Every North Carolinian I’ve talked to is frustrated by the government’s response. We need all hands on deck.https://t.co/G3NUF6HmX8
— Senator Ted Budd (@SenTedBuddNC) October 2, 2024
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Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) has traveled to North Carolina to assist with the recovery efforts, and has claimed that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has taken “a large majority of the personnel who should be here” and repurposed them “for immigration resettlement.” His comment was made after Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters Wednesday morning that FEMA is running out of money for hurricane season.
Biden conducted a flyover of North and South Carolina on Wednesday to survey Hurricane Helene’s damage. Early projections of damage costs range from $95 billion to $160 billion, pending on the source and metric inclusions.