By The New York Times (U.S.) | Created at 2024-10-05 22:17:54 | Updated at 2024-10-06 00:36:25
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The vice president visited Charlotte, N.C., for an update on relief efforts after Hurricane Helene ravaged wide swaths of the Southeast.
- Oct. 5, 2024, 6:15 p.m. ET
Vice President Kamala Harris met with North Carolina and federal emergency officials on Saturday in Charlotte as she continued to help oversee the disaster response in the Southeast after Hurricane Helene.
Ms. Harris participated in a storm response briefing at a North Carolina Air National Guard base at Charlotte’s airport, where she was joined by Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina and Mayor Esther Manheimer of Asheville, N.C., which was particularly hard-hit.
The vice president praised local officials and residents for their response to the storm.
“I’ve been seeing and hearing the stories from here in North Carolina about strangers who are helping each other out, giving people assistance in every way that they need, including shelter, food, and friendship and fellowship,” she said.
Ms. Harris’s trip to Charlotte was her second trip this week to assess the storm’s toll in the Southeast, and it served as a reminder that in addition to running for president she continued to have duties to fulfill as the vice president.
While the deadly storm and the conflict in the Middle East have at times diverted Ms. Harris from the campaign trail as she turns to her official duties, her aides and allies have said they believe having voters see Ms. Harris act as the vice president could make her appear presidential and empathetic to voters in a key battleground state.
The vice president’s office said 74 percent of those who reported losing access to electricity during the storm have had it restored. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is overseeing the federal response, has more than 700 people in North Carolina, Ms. Harris’s office said.
