Hundreds Still Missing in Mountain Towns After ‘History-Making’ Helene

This is the biggest test we’ve ever faced,

Mayor Esther Manheimer said last night on NBC News “Stay Tuned NOW.”

We have catastrophic failures of our transportation system throughout the city,

I'm committed to traveling to the impacted areas as soon as possible, but I've been told that it would be disruptive if I did it right now,

Biden said

As weather moves in toward the mountains, the clouds have to rise up and over the mountains, and that’s the upslope effect,

said Doug Outlaw, a National Weather Service meteorologist in the agency’s office in Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina

The rivers reached heights that have never on record been reached before

I just didn’t know how bad it was going to be,

This has been an unprecedented storm that has hit western North Carolina,

I'm disappointed with the response that we've had from FEMA,

We will be there with you as long as it takes,

Biden said,

I've told the governor of North Carolina I'll go down and I expect to be down there by Wednesday or Thursday when it is clear for me,

And the hurricane. Mr. President, why weren't you and Vice President Harris here in Washington commanding this this weekend?"

He just said, 'Hey, what do you need?' And I told him, you know, we got what we need. We will work through the federal process,

Kemp said

That’s the blessing so far in this,

I talked with both President Biden and Vice President Harris last night. They pledged their full support. This is going to be a tremendous effort in the short run, but looking at it in the long run, with the hundreds of roads that are destroyed, communities that were wiped off the map, we have to make sure that we get in there, are smart about rebuilding and doing it in a more resilient way,

Cooper told CNN

As president, I’ve seen firsthand the devastating toll that disasters like this take on families and communities,

Mr. Biden said in his remarks, during which he coughed and apologized for having a cold

I’m going to North Carolina on Wednesday. It’s planned now. We’re going to be landing in Raleigh for a meeting with the Emergency Operations Center, and I’ll then do an aerial tour,

Biden said in recent remarks

We’re fully up and running as of this morning,

Unfortunately the North Carolina flood victims are citizens of the USA, not Ukraine, so the Biden Administration sees no reason to help them."

The Daily Wire's Matt Walsh also wrote

By the time Helene came into the Carolinas, we already had that rain on top of more rain,

They are elderly, they are also senior veterans and they need supplies. They were barely able to get supplies up there and the only way out is to be airlifted and this is happening all over these counties,

I don't think these people thought it was going to be this extreme. Everyone keeps hearing about Florida... But no one is focusing attention to these western and northern North Carolina Cities, other than Ashville."

Yesterday, on a conference call, I was told 400 pallets of water was on the way,

Edwards said

We’re sending more search-and-rescue teams in there,

This storm is like no other that we've ever seen here in western North Carolina, ... It's described as a 500-year storm event."

Edwards, who represents North Carolina's 11th Congressional District, said on "Newsline."

The response has been disappointing,

Edwards said on NewsNation’s “The Hill” to anchor Blake Burman

Our poll workers are being affected,

We [began] to see some … some resources brought in today, but the storm was over about 80 hours ago,

Edwards said in his interview with Burman

We will not do that at the risk of diverting or delaying any – any of the response assets needed to deal with this crisis. My first responsibility is get all the help needed to those impacted areas,

Biden said

Cell and internet coverage is nonexistent at this point,

The United States has allocated over $16 billion to support Ukraine and Israel, leaving its own citizens feeling neglected and abandoned."

Another post by account @ShadowofEzra, viewed 1.5 million times said

So that’s simply not true, and it’s irresponsible,

Biden added

I don’t know why he does this, and the reason I get so angry about — I don’t care about what he says about me,

Biden said

Take this seriously. Please be safe. Your nation has your back and the Biden-Harris administration will be there until the job is done,

Biden said

'$2.4 billion aid to Ukraine' vs 'No more aid for Hurricane Helene' - 3 days apart."

It’s too much for me in terms of interrupting access to help there, to land in Asheville, to survey the damage other through the air,

Biden said

I would have loved it Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday, ... We’re not going to say ‘no.’

Joe Biden’s visit is too little, too late."

This is an unprecedented tragedy that requires an unprecedented response,

Roy Cooper, North Carolina’s governor, said

I've come to Valdosta with large semitrucks, many of them filled with relief aid. A tanker truck filled up with gasoline, a couple of big tanker trucks filled up with gasoline, which they can't get now. And we'll be working to distribute it throughout the day,

We're keeping them all in our prayers and all the lives lost and those particular unaccounted for. There's nothing like wondering is my husband, wife, son, daughter, mother, father alive and many more who remain without electricity – water, food and communications and homes and businesses have washed away in an instant. I want them to know we're not leaving until the job is done,

Biden said

Let me get this straight. He’s lying, and the governor told him he was lying,

Biden said

We have pre-planned a significant amount, even though they didn't ask for it yet—hadn't asked for it yet,

Biden said Sunday

I'm directing my team to provide every, every available resource as fast as possible to your communities to rescue, recover, and to begin rebuilding,

Biden said

We are devastated by the horrific flooding and widespread wind damage that was caused by Hurricane Helene across our forecast area,

So [Biden's] at home sleeping in one of his many estates, and [Harris is] in San Francisco, which she destroyed, trying to raise more money,

We have to make sure that we get in there and are smart about rebuilding and doing it in a resilient way,

There’s a distinction between the numbers that FEMA's used and the ones that are used by the locals. So it really is amazing. You saw the photographs. It’s stunning,

I know everyone here sends their thoughts and prayers for the folks who have been so devastated by that hurricane,

One of the brave teams that volunteered to be there was from San Diego County Fire Department, set to travel all the way from California to North Carolina to help, but on their way they were in a terrible car accident in Louisiana. We pray for their full recovery. But it was a bad accident,