The Biden administration announced Saturday that it would be sending $100 million to help the North Carolina Department of Transportation pay for immediate emergency repairs from Hurricane Helene damage, according to a press release.
“Working in close coordination with North Carolina, we are providing this initial round of funding so there’s no delay getting roads repaired and reopened, and re-establishing critical routes,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in the release.
“The Biden-Harris administration will be with North Carolina every step of the way, and today’s emergency funding to help get transportation networks back up and running safely will be followed by additional federal resources,” he added.
Buttigieg said in a post on the social platform X that the transportation department approved the request.
“Further support will follow as the administration works with states and communities at every step along the path to recovery,” he said in the post.
This comes as Vice President Harris visits with North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) in Charlotte on Saturday.
Biden assessed the damage in North Carolina on Wednesday by helicopter, and applauded politicians on both sides of the aisle in the Carolinas for their responses, the Associated Press reported.
Hurricane Helene has killed at least 133 people in six Southeastern states, NewsNation reported earlier this week.
In western North Carolina, residents have been stranded by washed-out roads and by a lack of power and cellular service. During a briefing earlier this week, White House homeland security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall suggested as many as 600 people were unaccounted for as of Monday afternoon, saying some might be dead, according to NewsNation.
On Friday, Buttigieg called out tech billionaire Elon Musk for making false claims related to the federal government and posting a screenshot of a conversation with a person who said air space for deliveries had been “shut down” and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was “throttling flights.”
“No one is shutting down the airspace and FAA doesn’t block legitimate rescue and recovery flights. If you’re encountering a problem give me a call,” Buttigieg stated.
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