US President Joe Biden arrived in eastern Kentucky yesterday to survey damage from severe flooding that swept away houses and vehicles, and killed at least 37 people last week.
Biden and First Lady Jill Biden visited families affected by the disaster along with Governor Andy Beshear, the White House said, before participating in a briefing on the emergency response efforts in Lost Creek, Kentucky.
After days of torrential rain, extreme hot weather descended on the region as families struggled to recover from the flooding.
The arduous task of cleaning up and rebuilding got under way last Wednesday as waters receded and remote areas became more accessible.
Mountains of muddy debris, upended vehicles and homes dislodged from their foundations were common sights.
Survivors, gathered at temporary shelters in the stricken region, described the harrowing experience of escaping the fast-rising water with little more than their lives.
About 400 members of the Kentucky National Guard fanned out to deliver hundreds of cases of water and assisting in the recovery effort, Beshear said last week.
Biden approved a major disaster declaration for Kentucky last week, freeing up federal funds for emergency work.
“The floods in Kentucky and extreme weather all around the country are yet another reminder of the intensifying and accelerate impacts of climate change and the urgent need to invest in making our communities more resilient to it,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told journalists aboard Air Force One.
Biden speaks with reporters before departing Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, to visit families in Kentucky impacted by floods.
