Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has slammed the Biden-Harris administration for overlooking rural communities in its disaster response to Hurricane Helene, calling out the White House for initially covering just a fraction of the counties devastated by the storm.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has sharply criticized the Biden-Harris administration for its delayed and incomplete response to rural communities devastated by Hurricane Helene, which swept across the southeastern U.S. last week. Kemp expressed frustration that he had to personally contact the White House to request additional counties in Georgia be added to President Biden’s disaster declaration. The storm left 25 people dead in Georgia and caused widespread damage across up to 90 counties, though the initial declaration covered only 11.
“When the first emergency declarations came down, there were only 11 counties in that. A lot of people were outraged, including me, because there was such devastation in up to 90 counties,” Kemp told WRDW in an interview. The Republican governor said he reached out to the president’s chief of staff and the FEMA administrator to emphasize the need for greater attention to rural areas, where recovery efforts have been slow.
Kemp’s call prompted immediate action, with the White House expanding the disaster declaration to cover an additional 30 counties. However, Kemp noted that many more counties remain in need of assistance, and he expects the number to rise as FEMA continues its assessments. “We’re at 41 counties right now, and I could see it going anywhere from 70 to 90,” he said.
The hurricane has left a trail of destruction across six states, with more than 200 people confirmed dead and an estimated $35 billion in damage. In Georgia, the storm caused massive flooding, mudslides, and evacuations, even in metro Atlanta, where record flooding overwhelmed infrastructure.
Kemp’s comments come as President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris make visits to storm-ravaged areas in the Southeast. While Biden took an aerial tour of South Carolina, Harris landed in Augusta, Georgia, to assess the damage firsthand. Despite these high-level visits, Kemp’s criticism underscores the growing frustrations from local officials who feel rural communities are being overlooked in the federal disaster response.
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