Biden pledges half a billion to restore power for reeling Floridians

After President Biden’s aerial tour on Sunday, he said: “Thankfully, the storm’s impact was not as cataclysmic as we had predicted.”

He then said: “For some individuals, it was cataclysmic.”

Biden thanked first responders and other local officials for their effort, while offering his empathy to residents whom he said he knows are “heartbroken and exhausted”.

The president’s pledge to provide over half a billion dollars to help repair Florida’s electrical grid comes amid rising tension over budgeting on Capitol Hill.

Some US lawmakers have urged Congress to return to session early to negotiate additional disaster relief funding for Fema.

However, House Speaker Mike Johnson, the highest-ranking official in the US House of Representatives, said Congress’s return “can wait”.

Johnson said Congress will return to session as planned, after the election on 5 November, and address the need for more funding when states have completed their assessments of the storm’s damage.

“Before Hurricane Helene made landfall… Congress appropriated $20bn (£15.3bn) to Fema so that they would have the resources to address immediate needs,” Johnson said, speaking on CBS News, the BBC’s media partner, on Sunday.

“I just checked this morning, less than 2% of that funding has been distributed,” he said.

In Florida, Biden said he had been “talking to Congress to see if they can get the money quickly.”

“It’s important,” he said.

The known death toll from Helene, which hit multiple states – including Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida – stands at 227.

Hurricane Milton, which made landfall in west Florida on 10 October, hit many of the same areas as Helene, leaving at least 17 people dead.

Milton’s ripping winds combined with deadly storm surges flattened west and central Florida homes, flipped cars and stripped power lines.

It also added to the destruction caused by Helene.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis had ordered emergency crews to work around-the-clock to remove debris caused by Helene ahead of Milton’s arrival. Much of it still remained as Milton made landfall.

The hurricanes have added to the brewing political storm as the US presidential election is in full swing.

Donald Trump has made false claims that the Biden administration “stole Fema money… so they could give it to their illegal immigrants that they want to have vote for them this season.”

Kamala Harris, who is running against Trump, responded by saying his remarks are “the height of irresponsibility and, frankly, callousness”.