Washington – With Hurricane Ian lashing the southeast U.S and leaving a path of destruction in Florida, President Joe Biden provided a detailed update Friday on his administration’s response to the devastating storm.
“The devastation caused by Hurricane Ian in Florida is heartbreaking,” said Biden.
Biden’s remarks come as Ian strengthened to a Category 4 hurricane again this time when it took aim at South Carolina.
“It’s not just a crisis to Florida, it’s an American crisis,” said Biden.
The Category 4 hurricane made landfall in Florida this week after dropping tons of rain, flooding streets and decimating neighborhoods that are now underwater.
Many were affected throughout the southeast U.S as it was estimated that more than 2.7 million homes were without power.
“The situation in Florida is far more devastating,” Biden said. “We are just beginning to see the scale of that destruction.”
In response, the commander-in-chief signed a major disaster declaration to help out the areas that were hit hardest by the storm.
Biden urged that he locked down the full support of the federal government to provide food, water and shelter while clearing roads and restoring electricity to critical infrastructure.
Biden also said that he is sending out search and rescue teams to look for survivors.
U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Brendan McPherson said “it’s a real challenging circumstance for our rescuers – they are dealing with high water, cities that don’t look like cities no more.”