President Joe Biden visited Florida on Sunday to survey the damage from Hurricane Milton and to meet with government leaders at the state, federal, and local level. Along with Deanne Criswell, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Biden toured the St. Petersburg area where homes, businesses, and infrastructure were heavily battered by Milton’s landfall last week.
The visit came two days after Biden declared a major disaster state for 34 counties in Florida, opening a channel for federal relief funding to be distributed to residents, businesses, and local governments. This, after a disaster was declared in parts of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia due to the effects of Hurricane Helene.
“As difficult as these days and weeks have been, we’ve seen incredible courage by so many of our fellow Americans,” President Biden said in remarks last week. “I want to thank all the first responders for running toward danger instead of away from it, for saving lives, and making a difference.” He also thanked FEMA personnel for their response in Florida.
Already the applications for FEMA disaster assistance broke a single-day record, with 250,000 applications being submitted on Saturday alone. Those seeking to apply can also do so by calling (800) 621-3362 or by downloading the FEMA mobile app.
Biden has reportedly spoken on the phone with Gov. Ron DeSantis since the landfall of Hurricane Milton, though the two haven’t met in person as of Monday. The governor and Vice President Kamala Harris have traded accusations of politicking amidst the hurricane recovery, though Biden has been more subdued in his public assessments of the state response. Senator Rick Scott, who served Florida as governor during major storms like Irma and Matthew, met with Biden following Hurricane Helene.
On Friday, Biden announced that $612 million would be delegated for six projects under the U.S. Department of Energy which would re-strengthen the electrical grid in areas which were affected by hurricanes Helene and Milton. He called on House Speaker Mike Johnson to assemble Congress in order to approve further measures, particularly to help small businesses in Florida.
