Photo: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
President Joe Biden said Thursday that he plans to travel to Florida on Saturday morning to tour areas affected by Hurricane Idalia earlier in the week.
“I’m going to Florida on Saturday morning,” Biden announced during a surprise visit Thursday to the headquarters of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in Washington DC, which has been coordinating the response to the hurricane.
“I’m leaving for Florida on Saturday morning,” Biden said, after delivering brief remarks at FEMA headquarters after thanking staff for their work in responding to the storm.
Biden will “visit the areas hardest hit by the hurricane,” White House national security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall told reporters at the White House on Thursday.
The news of the trip arrives hours after Biden formally approved a major disaster declaration for the state.
Biden spoke to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis by phone Thursday to update him on the statement.
Republican Governor Ron DeSantis is one of the primary election candidates for the nomination of the Republican presidential candidate in the 2024 election, in which Biden is running for re-election.
Speaking from FEMA’s National Response Coordination Center, Biden took the opportunity to ask Congress to approve funds for the federal Disaster Relief Fund.
“I call on Congress to make sure that I can have the funding to be able to continue to be around and meet the needs of the American people to address the immediate crises we are facing right now, as well as the long-term commitments we have. take on to finish the job on Maui and elsewhere,” Biden said.
Idalia, which has become a storm, is currently in Atlantic waters, about 120 miles (195 km) southeast of Cape Lookourt, North Carolina, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in its bulletin. from 2:00 p.m. local time.
Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas continue today the tasks of removing debris and felled trees after the passage of Idalia, which, after making landfall on the western tip of Cuba, landed as a powerful hurricane in the region known as “Big Bend”, a rural area on the northwest coast of Florida.
While Idalia did not cause devastating damage after making landfall, it did leave hundreds of thousands of homes without power in these states, and streets and docks inundated with its heavy rains, destructive winds, and tidal waves.
Keep reading:
– Biden ensures reinforcement of federal aid in response to damage from Hurricane Idalia
– Images showing flooding and damage after Hurricane Idalia passed through Cuba and Florida
– Areas hit by Idalia in Florida begin recovery and rescue tasks