Biden said today he has directed the Defense Department to move 1,000 troops to bolster the North Carolina National Guard. He said this was intended to speed up the delivery of life-saving supplies such as food, water and medicine.

Biden also said that FEMA was sending helicopters and trucks every day to deliver meals and gallons of water to these communities, and that it had been knocking on doors and visiting shelters to register residents to receive the funds and assistance they needed.

Dealing with the storm’s aftermath will cost billions of dollars, Biden said.

“We have the capacity to do the job and we will do it as quickly as possible,” he said.

He also spoke about the role of climate change in the storm, saying scientists have reported that “storms like Helene are getting stronger.”

Biden said he saw the “effects of that anger” in North Carolina today, particularly in the “beautiful city of Asheville,” which was under water a few days ago and “turned into rock and rubble,” he said.

He called for “volunteers and first responders” to stand “side by side” to help these communities.

“Whenever we have worked together, we have never succeeded in accomplishing anything,” Biden said.