More than 30 tornadoes hit Kentucky and four other US states over the weekend, killing at least 88 people and destroying homes.
For the fifth time since taking office less than a year ago, President Joe Biden is doing serious work on Wednesday to visit a region ravaged by the natural disaster and offer consolation.
Mr Biden went to Kentucky to survey the damage and offer federal aid for victims destructive tornado It killed dozens and left thousands without heat, water or electricity in the region.
30. more than Tornado Torn Through Kentucky and in four other states over the weekend, at least 88 people were killed and demolishing housesLower temperatures in Kentucky earlier this week caused power lines to collapse and residents cut off from major utilities.
Mr Biden will visit Fort Campbell for storm information and Mayfield and Dawson Springs to survey storm damage.
While Mr Biden is not expected to deliver a speech, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the president would meet with hurricane victims and local officials to provide federal aid.
Mr Biden “wants to hear directly from the people and he wants to give them his support directly,” Ms Psaki said.
Jeff and Tara Wilson, a married couple from Mayfield, were at the Graves County Fairgrounds on Tuesday, where a distribution center has been set up to deliver food, water and clothing to hurricane victims.
They were setting up a mobile site for hurricane victims to receive counseling and said their home was not safe.
When asked about the president’s visit and her reception in this key Republican field, Tara Wilson replied: “I don’t know. I think as long as everyone’s heart is in the right place, we need to focus on politics for now.” Not needed.” She said it was a “very positive thing” that Mr Biden was visiting and that she and her husband expressed hope the president could help unite the community.
“This place is as if a bomb has been dropped on it. And everyone needs to come together,” Ms Wilson said.
“That’s what’s happening so far. You see everyone pulling together.” Mr Biden’s visit to Kentucky marks the end of a year marked primarily by a significant increase in extreme weather events driven by climate change.
Only a month after taking the oath of office, Mr. Biden traveled to Houston to survey the damage caused by last winter’s historic hurricane.
They eventually traveled to Idaho, Colorado and California to survey the damage caused by wildfires during the summer, as well as Louisiana, New Jersey and New York this fall before Hurricane Ida broke through the area.
The disasters have presented Mr Biden with immediate and clear evidence that what he says is the dire need for the US to do more to tackle climate change and prepare for future disasters – a case he has made in his Created to help pass spending resolutions.
The $1 trillion infrastructure bill signed into law last month includes billions for climate resilience projects aimed at better protecting people and property from future storms, wildfires and other natural disasters.
His proposed $2 trillion social spending package, still pending in Congress, includes billions more to help move the country away from oil, gas and coal and toward widespread clean energy and electric vehicle use.
The White House has since spent much of the week engaging with lawmakers.
Mr Biden spoke with West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a major Democratic holdout, in hopes of smoothing out some of his issues in time to pass a package before the end of the year.
But on Wednesday, Mr Biden’s full focus will be on Kentucky. Officials said five twists occurred in the state, one of which was along an extraordinarily long route of about 200 miles (322 km).
In addition to the deaths in Kentucky, the tornado also killed at least six people in Illinois, where the Amazon distribution center in Edwardsville was affected; four in Tennessee; two in Arkansas, where a nursing home was destroyed and the governor said workers protected residents with their bodies; and two in Missouri.
The president signed two federal disaster declarations for Kentucky over the weekend, providing federal aid for search and rescue and clean-up operations, as well as aid for temporary housing and helping individuals and businesses recover.
Mr Biden said during a briefing on the tragedy with Homeland Security Department Secretary Alejandro Meyerkas and other top emergency response officials at the White House earlier this week that the federal government is determined to provide whatever states the affected states need after the storm. Committed.
“We’re going to get it done,” Biden said. “As long as it takes to help, we’re going to be there.”
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