Georgia GOP Gov. Brian Kemp on Wednesday criticized the Biden-Harris administration for its initial response to the devastation Hurricane Helene caused in his state, saying that until he called the White House, aid that was approved did not include money for several rural counties.
"When the first emergency declarations came down, there were only 11 counties in that," Kemp told Augusta CBS affiliate WRDW on Wednesday. "A lot of people were outraged, including me, because there was such devastation in up to 90 counties.
The Hill earlier reported that Kemp said he and Biden spoke at 5 p.m. on Sunday, and he praised the administration's storm response.
Kemp said that his office had to call the White House to ask that more parts of the state be added to the federal disaster declaration.
The governor said he spoke to President Joe Biden's chief of staff Jeffrey Zients and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell and said "Look, you're sending the signal that you're not paying attention to some of these rural communities."
Kemp, though, said that immediately after he called the White House, officials added 30 more counties to the disaster declaration. Further, he said that FEMA can add more counties if it is necessary.
Biden made the disaster declaration immediately after the hurricane hit to allow those affected by the storm to apply for federal assistance.
Kemp commented that Georgia will "absolutely" be adding more counties in need of aid.
"We're at 41 right now, and I could see it going anywhere from 70 to 90," he said.
The governor added that the massive storm hit areas statewide, including in metro Atlanta, which suffered record flooding.
"We had mudslides," Kemp said. "We had to evacuate people below lakes, and ponds up in the northeast part of the state, so we’ve been dealing with it."
Meanwhile, a report on Thursday indicated that few people living in Appalachian areas of western North Carolina hit by the storm will be able to rely on getting federal flood insurance money to help them recover.
The National Flood Insurance Program covers just 1 in 200 single-family homes in the region, as the federal program covers flood risks only caused by rising seas and rivers, not the extreme rainfall from Helene that destroyed widespread areas.
Kemp's interview on Wednesday came as Biden was scheduled to visit his state and Florida on Thursday.
Wednesday, Biden flew over Greenville, South Carolina for a tour of the area before heading to Raleigh, North Carolina for an operational briefing. Vice President Kamala Harris, meanwhile, has arrived in Augusta, Georgia to view the damages.