President Joe Biden directed up to 1,000 active duty troops to immediately deploy to assist with response and recovery efforts in communities hit by Hurricane Helene, the White House said on Wednesday.
More than 1.2 million people were still without power Wednesday in the Carolinas and Georgia, which were pounded by Helene after the storm made landfall on Florida's Gulf Coast.
"We have to jump-start this recovery process," Biden said Tuesday. "People are scared to death. This is urgent."