Biden, Harris take stock of battered southeastern US after Hurricane Helene 

US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are travelling to South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia in the wake of a devastating storm that tore through the states last week, killing at least 155 people.

Hurricane Helene, a thunderous Category 4 storm, unleashed some of the worst flooding in generations after it made landfall on September 26, sweeping away homes and cars and claiming victims across the Carolinas and Georgia, in addition to Florida, Tennessee and Virgina.

Hundreds were still missing and more than a million without power when Biden touched down in South Carolina Wednesday afternoon.

“We have towns that have disappeared, literally,” said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, travelling with the president. “This is a multi-billion-dollar, multi-year recovery.”

Where is Biden visiting?

Biden’s first stop was Greenville, South Carolina, where he met with local officials, including South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, US Senator Lindsey Graham and North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper.

The president was then expected to fly over the city of Asheville in western North Carolina, where Helene wreaked some of its worst devastation.

“My heart goes out to everyone who has experienced unthinkable loss,” said Biden in a statement before setting off to the south-east. “We are here for you — and we will stay here for as long as it takes.”

Biden also announced he would send 1,000 active-duty soldiers to North Carolina to help with their emergency response.

Vice President Harris on Wednesday is separately visiting Georgia, where she will be briefed on the state’s crisis response. In the next few days, she will also make a stop in North Carolina, according to a White House official cited by The Hill.

Election test

The White House administration’s handling of the crisis is a pivotal trial ahead of the November US elections, in which the battleground states of North Carolina and Georgia could prove decisive.

Both states are currently on a razor’s edge, with Republican contender Donald Trump leading by just a point or two, according to the FiveThirtyEight polling aggregator.

Trump, who went to Georgia earlier this week, has already weaponised the storm for his campaign, accusing Biden of “sleeping” amid the crisis and Harris of “staging” a photo showing her coordinating the administration’s emergency response.

Biden said Trump was “lying” about their response. He added that he had opted not to visit the region in person sooner so as not to deflect attention from relief and rescue efforts.

“My top priority is to ensure the communities devastated by this hurricane get the help and support they need as quickly as possible,” Biden told reporters on Tuesday.