WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump criticized the Biden administration’s response to the Great devastation caused by Hurricane Heleneeven as his supporters call for cuts to federal agencies that warn of weather disasters and provide aid to the hardest-hit communities.

As President Trump delayed disaster relief for hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico and Money diverted from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to fund efforts to return illegal migrants to Mexico. And Project 2025The administration backed by Trump supporters would restructure FEMA to limit aid to states and says the National Weather Service, which provides crucial data on hurricanes and other storms, “should be disbanded and downsized.”

Trump claimed without evidence Monday that the Biden administration and North Carolina’s Democratic governor are “doing everything possible not to help people in Republican areas.”

Biden has approved major disaster declarations for Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina, allowing survivors access to funds and resources to immediately boost their recovery. FEMA and other federal agencies, along with private companies and nonprofit and faith-based organizations, are responding to the disaster in at least seven states: Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama and Virginia.

“Each of these states is at different stages of their response and recovery efforts. However, all states are dealing with impacts, including impassable roads, disruptions to communications and water systems, and power outages,” FEMA said in a statement.

Trump also noted Monday that Georgia’s Republican Gov. Brian Kemp had been unable to communicate with Biden about the relief. But Kemp told reporters that he spoke with Biden the day before and that the president said to “call him directly” if the state had additional needs. “I appreciate that,” Kemp said.

The death toll The storm killed more than 100 people, with some of the worst damage caused by inland flooding in western North Carolina. Buncombe County, where the city of Asheville is located, reported 35 deaths from the storm on Monday.

Natural disasters are not only humanitarian crises but can also pose political tests for elected officials. North Carolina and Georgia, two of the states affected by the storm, are key battlegrounds in the November presidential election between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Harris said in a statement that she and Biden are working with local leaders in the Southeast to provide support as they face the impacts of Hurricane Helene and begin to recover. More than 1,500 federal forces are deployed, including power restoration teams and search and rescue teams, she said.

“Listen to local officials and stay safe,” Harris said. “We are by your side every step of the way.”

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell called the flooding in North Carolina “historic” and said the storm caused significant infrastructure damage to water systems, communications, roads and major transportation routes in several states, complicating recovery efforts.

“I don’t know that anyone could be fully prepared for the amount of flooding and landslides that are going on right now,” Criswell said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” She visited several areas in Georgia on Sunday and was in North Carolina on Monday.

Officials have sent bottled water to affected states, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is studying ways to quickly restart water systems, Criswell said. Officials are also setting up satellite communications to deal with cell tower outages and lack of phone service.

During Trump’s term as president, he visited numerous disaster areas, including the aftermath of hurricanes, tornadoes and shootings. But the trips sometimes sparked controversy, like when he discarded paper towels to the cheering residents of Puerto Rico in 2017 after Hurricane Maria.

That also happened years later, just weeks before the 2020 presidential election Trump’s administration released $13 billion to support the territory. A federal government watchdog found that officials obstructed an investigation into delays in aid delivery.

Democrats in Congress also criticized Trump for transferring $155 million from FEMA’s operating budget to fund efforts to return migrants to Mexico. FEMA officials said at the time that the move would have no impact on disaster relief efforts, but organizations representing emergency planners criticized the move.

Trump also insisted that Alabama, as well as the Carolinas and Georgia, would be hit “harder than expected” by Hurricane Dorian in 2019. Trump showed a map from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration modified with a black Sharpie marker to extend the hurricane’s projected path to include Alabama.

FEMA uses its disaster relief fund to coordinate the federal response to major disasters. This will be used to finance, among other things, debris removal, repair of public infrastructure and financial support for survivors. The temporary spending bill passed and put into effect last week pumped about $20 billion into the fund and gave FEMA the ability to spend that money more quickly.

That should help the agency respond to the most urgent needs, but lawmakers from both parties acknowledge that additional money will be needed in the coming months. Lawmakers are expected to return to Washington shortly after the November election to negotiate a full-year spending bill, while many lawmakers will seek billions of dollars more for the disaster relief fund.

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Associated Press writers Stephen Groves and Kevin Freking in Washington and Jill Colvin in New York contributed to this story.