Biden, Harris to visit areas hit by Hurricane Helene

US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are expected to travel on Wednesday to areas affected by Hurricane Helene.

Officials have put the death toll from Helene at more than 160, with up to 600 unaccounted for across several states.

Many residents were still without running water and electricity as floodwaters receded, revealing more of the destruction left in Helene's path.

Harris, who became the Democratic party nominee in the US presidential election after Biden dropped out, will travel on her own to the southern state of Georgia.

Meanwhile, Biden will head to North Carolina, where he will make a helicopter trip over the city of Asheville, one of the areas worst hit by the storm.

Biden will also visit a rescue command center in the state before traveling to neighboring South Carolina.

"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 Tuesday.

The US president added that he had not traveled to the affected areas sooner because rescue workers said his visit would have affected operations on the ground. 

The White House said Biden is also expected to travel to Florida, another state affected by the storm, in the coming days.

Storm becomes political

Hurricane Helene has devastated a region of the Appalachian mountains covering the US states of North Carolina and Georgia — two of the seven crucial swing states that could decide the result of the presidential election.      

Former President Donald Trump sought to make political capital out of the disaster, accusing the US government, without evidence, of ignoring the crisis and denying help to his supporters.

Trump accused Biden of "sleeping" at his beach home in Delaware while Harris was at campaign fundraisers on the US West Coast, instead of being in Washington to manage the crisis.

The Republican nominee for president meanwhile visited the disaster zone on Monday, traveling to the stricken town of Valdosta in Georgia and promising to "bring lots of relief material, including fuel, equipment, water, and other things." 

Biden flatly rejected Trump's criticism and acused him of spreading lies.

"He's lying," Biden told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, adding that he had spoken to North Carolina Governor Ray Cooper "and he told him he's lying. I don't know why he does it ... that's simply not true, and it's irresponsible."

jcg/nm (AP, Reuters)