President Joe Biden vowed that ‘we’re all in this together’ after the remnants of Hurricane Ida killed more than a dozen people in the south and northeast.
Ida, the fifth-strongest hurricane to ever hit the mainland US, brought unprecedented rainfall, flash flood and tornado warnings to the northeast on Wednesday night. The storm, which made landfall in Louisiana as a Category 4 hurricane on Sunday, killed at least 22 people from Maryland to New York.
Speaking from the White House on Thursday afternoon, Biden had a message to those affected: ‘We’re all in this together’.
‘The nation is here to help – that’s the message I’ve been making clear to the mayors, governors, emergency and utility providers whom my administration has been working closely with over the past few days,’ Biden said.
Nine people have been reported dead in New York City in homes in Brooklyn and Queens and their ages ranged from 2 to 86, according to police.
New York City’s boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and parts of Long Island were under a flood emergency alert.
‘This is the first time that such a warning has ever been issued in New York City,’ Biden said. ‘People were trapped in the subways but the heroic men and women of the New York Fire Department rescued all of them that were trapped.’
In New Jersey, four people were found dead in Elizabeth, including two women and two men in an apartment complex, city spokesperson Kelly Martins said. Passaic Mayor Hector Lora said a man trapped in his car died.
‘We’re hearing the same story of devastation in New Jersey and Pennsylvania as well,’ Biden said.
‘I want to express my heartfelt thanks to all the first responders and everyone who has been working through the night and well into the morning.’
Biden acknowledged ‘a lot of damage’ and assured that Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was on the ground and prepared to provide assistance as needed.
He also addressed destruction in the south, where six deaths have been reported and about a million people were left without power in Louisiana and Mississippi.
Biden, who is set to visit Louisiana on Friday, said Governor John Bel Edwards encouraged him to make the trip and ensured that it will ‘not disrupt recovery efforts’.
The president said that Ida ‘isn’t about politics’, as the storm did not discriminate between Democrats and Republicans in wrecking havoc and causing tragedy.
‘It’s a matter of life and death and we’re all in this together,’ Biden said.
‘This is one of the great challenges of our time but I’m confident we’ll meet it. We’re the United States of America. And there’s simply nothing – you’ve heard me say before – nothing beyond our capacity when we work together.’
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