Biden pledges ‘all the assistance that’s needed’ after Ida

President Joe Biden on Thursday said his administration was "ready to provide all the assistance that’s needed" in response to a massive wildfire in California and to Hurricane Ida, which knocked out power and wreaked havoc along the Gulf Coast before causing deadly flooding and tornadoes in the Northeast.

Ida was the fifth most powerful storm to strike the U.S. when it hit Louisiana on Sunday with maximum winds of 150 mph (240 kph), likely causing tens of billions of dollars in flood, wind and other damage, including to the electrical grid. The storm’s remnants dropped devastating rainfall across parts of Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey on Wednesday, killing at least 18 people and causing significant disruption to major population centers.

More than 1 million homes and businesses in Louisiana and Mississippi remained without power after Ida toppled a major transmission tower and knocked out thousands of miles of lines and hundreds of substations. New Orleans was plunged into total darkness; power began returning to parts of the city on Wednesday. Biden is set to visit Louisiana on Friday to survey some of the damage.

Biden said the flooding in Louisiana was less than the region experienced during Hurricane Katrina, crediting federal investments in the area’s levee system. "It held, it was strong, it worked," he said at the White House.

"We know that there is much to be done in this response on our part," Biden added. "We need to get power restored. We need to get more food, fuel and water deployed."

He said he was receiving hourly updates on the disaster response and outlined efforts by the federal government to ease recovery efforts, including by making satellite imagery available to utility companies and waiving some regulatory requirements.

Biden added he directed the Department of Energy to use the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to ensure the steady supply of fuel to the region.

Biden said the Pentagon was assisting with ongoing firefighting operations in California against the Caldor fire.

He said the crises, were "yet another reminder that these extreme storms and the climate crisis are here."

"It’s a matter of life and death, and we’re all in it together," he added.

Biden said he was assured that his visit to Louisiana would not interfere with the relief efforts in the state.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards suggested the visit would be crucial for the president to understand the destruction by seeing the widespread damage for himself.

"There’s nothing quite like visiting in person," Edwards told reporters Wednesday following a briefing with local elected officials in Jefferson Parish, which took direct blows from Ida. "When you see it for yourself, it is just so much more compelling."

Asked what type of assistance he planned to request from Biden, Edwards said, "Quite frankly, the list is going to be very, very long." But he said a priority would be for a housing program to help people rebuild.

The White House says Biden has been getting regular updates on the storm and its aftermath. He has held several conference calls with governors and local officials to discuss preparations and needs after the storm, and has received briefings from FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell.

FEMA had sent tons of supplies, including generators, tarps and other materials to the region before the storm, and federal response teams are working on search and rescue.

Authorities blame the storm for at least six deaths.

Biden’s trip Friday to the Gulf region will cap a difficult stretch for the president, who oversaw the chaotic exit of the U.S. military from Afghanistan after a 20-year engagement. That included the deaths of 13 U.S. service members helping evacuate more than 120,000 Americans, Afghan allies and others fleeing life under Taliban rule.

As Ida bore down on the Gulf Coast on Sunday, Biden was at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to witness the return of the remains of the 13 U.S. servicemen and women who were killed in suicide bombing last week at Afghanistan’s airport in Kabul, where the evacuations were taking place.