Hundreds dead and thousands injured. How are things in USA after Helen hurricane?

Hurricane Helen powerfully hit the southeastern United States. Over a hundred dead and millions of people stayed without electricity.

The damage from the natural disaster is estimated at tens of billions of dollars. At the same time, the authorities are in no hurry to help.

Biden says that they have already helped as much as they could. And politicians and journalists are actively criticizing the focus of the American administration, saying that they don't think about their own people, but spare no money for Ukraine.

The US is assessing the damage from the natural disaster

Houses, practically hidden under the roof in water, washed-out roads and destroyed bridges, broken power lines and fallen trees. This is what the southeastern United States looks like today after hurricane Helen swept through. It has already been recognized as the deadliest to hit the States in the last 35 years. Residents of Florida, who have survived many storms, say they have never seen anything like this:

"Destructive element. We all grew up here. Here lived my grandfather. All our memories remained in this ruined house. And it's so sad".

"My house is gone. It is simply gone. Over there on the left. It was there, and now it's just gone, along with many others".

The victims of the disaster already outnumber 100 people. The number of missing persons is measured in hundreds, if not thousands. In North Carolina alone, there have been reports of six hundred missing people. It is specified that this number includes Americans who are simply left without means of communication. However, the population was further terrified by the local authorities' calls to write personal information on their hands with a black marker, so that, quote, they could be quickly identified if anything happened.

Will Ray, Director of Emergency Management for North Carolina (USA):

"I want to remind all residents of North Carolina that conditions on the ground remain extremely dangerous. Flooding continues, the roads are damaged. There are broken power lines and unstable soil. We ask people not to take risks and not to return to hurricane-affected areas to check on property or loved ones. "Let the professionals do their job."

And this concerns not only the residents of North Carolina. In many areas where Helen has wreaked havoc, there is still no electricity. So far, about three million homes and businesses have been cut off from power supply. Local residents also faced a fuel shortage. At gas stations, there are multi-kilometer queues. In North Carolina, seven water treatment plants were shut down due to a lack of energy, leaving about 70,000 families without water supply. In addition, due to damaged roads, the delivery of drinking water to the affected areas is complicated.

Ron DeSantis, Governor of the State of Florida (USA):

"As you can see, many homes and businesses along the state's coast have suffered damage. We are currently working with emergency management partners to open shelters for those affected. We hope to resolve this issue soon".

Three thousand rescuers are dealing with the aftermath of the hurricane. The scale of material losses has not yet been calculated, but it will amount to tens of billions of dollars. President Biden was asked, by the way, whether aid would be provided to the victims? The master of the White House answered with a monosyllabic no - they have already been helped as much as they could.

Joe Biden, President of the USA:

"We gave them everything we have. We arrived at the disaster site early and worked hard there. No, nothing else. We have already given them a lot!" 

Criticism of such indifference by the authorities was not long in coming. Especially against the backdrop of endless tranches of military aid to the Ukrainian authorities. Politicians and journalists are now writing about the controversial priorities of the White House.

Lavern Spicer, politician, candidate for the US House of Representatives:

"Where are Kamala and Biden? If this had happened in Ukraine, they would be shown on every news channel".

Charlie Kirk, journalist:

"Now we must spend money for the Americans on hurricane relief and not spend anything on Ukraine."

Simple Americans are tired of such indifference. The element hit the region last Thursday. The authorities still cannot properly assess the damage from the large-scale destruction, nor can they centrally assist in eliminating the consequences of the disaster. The White House previously stated that Biden will visit storm-affected communities later this week when he, quote, "will not interfere with emergency response operations." Dodged, he really dodged.