Trump vows ‘100 pct’ support for storm-battered Carolinas
CONWAY, United States: US President Donald Trump toured storm- battered areas of the Carolinas, handing out meals to residents and promising the ‘ 100 per cent’ support of the federal government to victims of Hurricane Florence.
“Washington is with you. Trump is with you,” the president said during a briefing at emergency operations headquarters in Conway, South Carolina.
Trump began his tour of the storm- damaged region in worsthit North Carolina, f lying into Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point aboard Air Force One.
Whatever we have to do at the federal level, we’ll be there. We will be there 100 per cent. Donald Trump, US President
“Some of the flooding is actually epic. We’ve seen all the pictures where houses are literally covered beyond the roof,” Trump said at a news conference.
From Cherry Point, Trump traveled to New Bern, North Carolina, a town at the conf luence of the Neuse and Trent rivers that suffered severe flooding.
“We’re giving you a lot of help,” Trump told one resident as he walked along River Drive in a low-lying neighbourhood of New Bern made up of brick and clapboard houses.
Trump pledged federal assistance as the Carolinas begin the long recovery from a storm estimated to have caused billions of dollars in damage and left dozens dead.
“Whatever we have to do at the federal level, we’ll be there. We will be there 100 per cent,” Trump said. The president offered his condolences for the nearly 40 people killed by the storm.
“America grieves with you and our hearts break for you ... We will never forget your loss, we will never leave your side. We are with you all the way,” he said.
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said his state took a ‘gut punch’ from Florence, which made landfall on the coast as a Category 1 hurricane on Friday and drenched some parts of the state with 40 inches of rain.
“Our people are still reeling ... Our rivers are still cresting and there is still danger for some people,” he added.
Cooper said farmers in the state had suffered significant losses to crops, while major roads remained flooded and thousands of people were still without power. — AFP